Black Crown
by Evelos
Summary: <html><head></head>From the nest they fall, and upon the ground, their will to soar is dampened, yet not lost. AU.</html>
1. Introduction

A slim woman moved out along the winding path, keeping her hands just within the lower pockets of her thin, red jacket. She stepped gently over the concrete and grass; even as the wind began to carry a swirl of dust beside her feet, she walked on with her eyes to the front.

"Lightning?"

Lightning paused in place, but it was only for a moment, just long enough to cast a blank gaze over her shoulder. "I told you not to follow me out here."

"But..." A short boy walked out from behind a nearby pillar. "You're really leaving?" He stood only tall enough to reach her shoulders, but his face was etched with both concern, and an air of knowledge beyond what most children could posses. "Hey, what about your promise?"

"My promise..." Lightning moved forward again, and the corner of her lip curled as a second set of footsteps joined her own. "I don't recall any of my promises being time-sensitive, Mister Estheim."

"I told you... Call me Hope." Hope frowned, glancing to the side. "Are you _always_ like this, or is it just for my benefit?"

Lightning shook her head. "You'd better get back home."

"Why?" Hope blinked against the wind, hurrying to keep up with her pace. "You're hiding something, Lightning..."

She paused. "Call me Light."

"Okay..." Hope glanced down to see a stretch of winding, metal latticework upon the ground. "Why are you leaving?"

Lightning knelt down, before she reached for the handle of a small hatch, pulling it open with a sigh. "Business."

Hope watched as Lightning held up a large, white dove in her hands, before the metal door fell shut. "But you'll be back?"

Lightning nodded, holding up a wing of the bird between her index finger and thumb.

"Soon enough to keep teaching me?"

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "I don't quite understand the benefit you'll get from swordplay, but you have my word." She suddenly let her hand fall aside, and the dove fluttered out into the air, before it banked to the side, circling just above. "Things are peaceful for now; you should let the rest of us worry about these things."

Hope tipped his head to watch the soaring bird. "But will it always be like this?"

Lightning looked away to hide her smirk. "Smart kid, I'll give you that..." She shook her head. "Get on back; I should be home before long."

"Okay." Hope stood up with a nod. "Thank you, Lightning."

"Light."

Hope nodded again. "If your sister asks..?"

Lightning began to walk forward. "I'm doing errands, like I told you." She lifted one hand to cover her forehead, gazing up at the circling dove. "Although, if you want to get on my _good_ side, keep an eye out for that lumbering oaf."

Hope frowned. "Snow? He's not so-" With a quiet gasp, Hope stumbled back as a thin, yet blinding pillar of light crossed his line of vision, but after a moment of silence, he found himself completely alone, save for a single, drifting feather.

"Really?" Hope sighed, but he reached out to catch the white plume between his fingers. "Always so abrupt..." He took a deep breath, before he turned away, walking back along the wide, sun-swept terrace. "You'd think she was just trying to show off, or something."

"Light's always been like that."

Hope jumped at the nearby voice, and he spun around, only to look upon the face of a woman nearly identical to Lightning herself, although he could tell that the features before him were softer, and slightly more youthful.

"Sorry... I'm just trying to keep tabs on her." The young woman grinned at him from atop a concrete pillar, and Hope couldn't help but stare at the large, artful bow strung across her back. "Sisterly concern, you know."

After a moment, Hope took a step forward. "Serah... I'm just glad it's you."

Serah crossed her legs at the knee, supporting her chin with the palm of her hands. "Who else would it be?"

Hope shrugged. "I don't know." He soon moved to lean against the base of the pillar, staring down at the grass that poked out from between the fractured concrete. "Light's just been... A little strange, lately."

Serah moved to look down from the pillar. "How so?"

"Well..." Hope narrowed his eyes in thought. "The first few times I've trained with her, Lightning was... _Completely_ focused on the task at hand; she'd almost never let anything distract her from sparring."

Serah kept quiet for a moment. "But something changed?"

Hope nodded. "I actually managed to land a hit on her, yesterday." He glanced up to see Serah's expression. "Nothing serious! We were using wooden swords, not actual weaponry..."

Serah exhaled, before she nearly giggled. "Wow, she must have been really distracted... I wonder what this 'business' could be."

Hope's lungs tightened for a brief moment. "You don't think she'd..?"

Serah let out a quiet sigh, but she merely smiled down at him. "Lightning is a _lot_ of things, some of which is to keep things quiet, just in order to take the burden on herself." Serah glanced over at the markings upon Hope's wrist. "You were from a different colony at first, right?"

Hope nodded, rubbing at his hand. "Yeah, it was... Closer to the shell, so it took the brunt of the impact." He slowly began to sit, sliding down to rest at the base of the pillar. "Not many of us made it out."

Serah's smile faded. "I'm sorry."

Hope shook his head. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault."

Serah chewed at her bottom lip for a moment, before she moved to jump down from the pillar, landing squarely on her feet. "We should get back over to town."

Hope held the feather up in the palm of his hand. "She left this."

Serah reached to gently take the white plume, but she frowned when a certain shade of color swept over the pinion, so she moved back until the feather had reverted to white. "Then... She meant for you to have it; maybe for good luck?"

Hope shrugged. "Sometimes I don't even think she'll tolerate me being around much longer..."

Serah laughed with a quick shake of her head. "Don't say _that_; she's just a little rougher than most." She gestured for Hope to follow her. "Light has to be tough for us, you know?"

Hope rose to his feet, storing the feather away in his shirt pocket. "I haven't seen any monsters around since the first couple of waves."

Serah grinned. "We sure scared them off, huh?" She tapped at the bowstring across her chest. "Light taught _me_ how to fight too."

Hope began to smile. "I know Lightning doesn't care for him, but Snow promised to teach me some grappling techniques when he gets the chance."

Serah beamed over her shoulder. "He's probably the best teacher you can find! Snow's got the size for it... More than enough, in fact."

Hope laughed under his breath. "Sounds like those rumors are true."

Serah's expression wavered, before she turned away to face the thin, cobbled path. "I haven't heard any rumors."

"I don't pay too much attention to them..." Hope glanced up to see a weathered sign-post, swinging just above the pathway. "But the word around town is that he made a certain... Public declaration."

Serah kept silent for a moment, before she revealed a grin, twirling once in place. "You should've _seen_ her face... I nearly thought that I'd have to get in _between_ those two before Snow got his teeth knocked out all over the street!"

Hope looked down at his shoes. "Light's protective, I take it."

Serah nodded. "In some ways she has to be, but she can get a little too thorough for her own good."

Hope moved to kick at a stray pebble as they walked along the pathway. "She seems like a good sister."

Serah grinned. "Definitely... Light's really great."

After a moment of silence, Hope cleared his throat. "What sort of bow is that?" He pointed at Serah's back. "You said she taught you how to use it."

Serah reached up, running her fingertips along the sleek, metal framework of the upper limb. "It's a very special weapon, just like hers... It's not _just_ a bow." Serah giggled. "Have you ever heard of a familiar, Hope?"

Hope glanced over his shoulder. "Of course... Lightning just used hers."

Serah patted along the bowstring. "A weapon is an extension of yourself, and by that, an extension of your being." She looked up to gaze at the nearby outline of a village. "Let's just say that Mog is almost as protective as Lightning..."

As the words left Serah's lips, Hope almost swore that he could feel a strange sort of presence laughing alongside them, but he could find nothing amiss within the small, grassy ravine as they entered the village gates.

"Say..." Serah turned to face the rows of both wooden and concrete buildings that lined the canyon walls, linked together by several suspended, wooden bridges. "Did you know about the Vestige, just above the cliff, there?"

Hope followed her gaze, and he soon looked upon an imposing, yet tilted structure. "The old ruin up there? I thought it was supposed to be empty."

Serah shook her head. "Empty of supplies, maybe... But what if there's something interesting inside?" She turned to face Hope with a tiny grin. "Lightning said that she saw some really cool sculptures in there when she went out with the scouting party; maybe we can find something useful for when she gets back!"

Hope frowned at the ruins above. "But... If it came from Cocoon..."

Serah shrugged. "So? That will only make it more useful." She moved to point at the upper levels of the Vestige. "You remember what it was _like_, all those years ago... Right?"

Hope thought back for a moment, gazing off into the distance. "Yeah."

Serah nodded. "I'm not saying that we should go in without backup, of course..." She suddenly smiled at a familiar sight within the village, and she walked over to wave at someone in a nearby crowd. "Snow was in the same group as Light, so he'd know how to get in there in the first place."

After a short moment, an almost ridiculously tall man walked up with a wide smile, moving in to draw Serah up into a hug. "Hey, you!"

Serah grinned. "Snow! Would you be up for a little exploration?"

Snow moved back after a moment, scratching at the stubble on his chin. "Suppose so... Where would we be heading?"

Serah pointed up at the canyon wall. "The Vestige; I've been wondering what else could be inside of it."

Snow's expression suddenly flickered into something more serious, but after a moment of thought, he shrugged it away. "I did get a weird vibe in there, but there were a lot of empty rooms that we didn't quite check; it _could_ be worth a second look."

Serah started off with a nod, gently tugging Snow along by his wrist. "No need to introduce you guys, of course."

Snow looked over at Hope, and they shared a nod. "I've known kiddo here since before the fall..."

Hope moved to follow after them. "It was only once our town had-" He paused, glancing away. "Snow helped me out of that, and even down here, we met up again after the colony I was in had disbanded."

Serah reached over to pat his shoulder. "I'm glad you made it here safely."

Hope smiled a bit. "New Bodhum seems... Nicer, than any of the other outposts."

Snow laughed with a nod. "We like it that way! I can't really stand most authority, myself, but Light and the others do a good job at keeping the peace."

Serah moved over to step up along a wooden staircase. "Although it's not like there's much threat of monsters anymore..."

Snow followed after her. "Well, there's also more than _just_ monsters out there." He shook his head. "But it's barely even an issue now with the cloaking fields."

Hope glanced up at the layered lines of both houses and commercial shacks, and he almost frowned upon spotting a mass of thick, gray clouds up ahead, but after a moment, he turned back to face his companions. "Well, what about... Down below?"

Snow paused. "Below."

Hope nodded.

Serah looked back over her shoulder. "I think that Lightning would be the one to ask."

Hope glanced down at the village, or more specifically, the crumbling platform that lead out from the canyon entrance, tapering down to form the edge of the very land itself, before a vast, nearly endless expanse of blue lay where it left off.

"I guess so." Hope closed his eyes for a moment, before he turned, walking to catch up with his friends. "I just can't help but wonder... What's it like down there?"

* * *

><p>A layer of steam billowed out over the darkened alleyway, and Lightning nearly lifted her hand to cover her mouth, but after a brief session of slow, calculated breathing, she began to walk forward with a nod. "Sazh."<p>

After a moment, a solitary figure moved out from the adjacent path. "Lightning... Good to see you again."

With a nod, Lightning reached down into her jacket pocket, retrieving a small, folded letter. "From Dajh. He seems to have settled nicely."

Sazh's mouth spread out into a grin as he opened the letter, gazing along the scrawled, yet heartfelt doodles within. "You know... For a while, I didn't think you'd even find him."

Lightning's expression wavered. "How old was he, when..?"

Sazh let out a wistful sigh. "It was... At least a hundred years after the second war, so I'd say..." He moved to scratch at the back of his head. "I... I fell during the third, you know."

Lightning glanced away. "He enjoyed the book you sent." She nearly smiled at the memory. "He said that if you had any more for me to deliver..."

Sazh began to nod. "I've got a few back at home, but I have a feeling you called for something else."

Lightning bit at the inside of her cheek. "I'm ready to meet the one you talked about."

Sazh paused for a moment, before he let out a quiet sigh. "Light, the thing about us fallen..."

With a curt nod, Lightning began to walk forward. "I can handle anything they throw at me."

"Light..." Sazh hurried to keep up with her. "I know you're one heck of a fighter, but these guys are on a whole different level."

Lightning shrugged. "What's the worst they can do?"

Sazh nearly reached over to grab her shoulder, but he quickly thought better of it. "There's a _reason_ we were cast out, you know."

Lightning paused at his tone, and she turned, gazing out into his stern, yet gentle eyes. "'Etro will receive those that the great lord rejects.'"

Sazh took a deep breath. "_Everything_ comes with a price."

Lightning nodded. "Then what are her terms? As if we had anything left to lose..."

Sazh cracked a grin. "That's one way to put it... But the goddess of death is more like a 'final destination' than most." He suddenly squinted to examine Lightning's expression. "What've you got planned in that thick skull of yours?"

Lightning looked away. "Something stupid, but it needs to be done." She began to walk forward once again, but she kept her pace even and controlled. "Bhunivelze... Back in Cocoon, I saw a glimpse of something insane."

Sazh quirked a single, bushy eyebrow. "And what might that have been?"

Lightning grit her teeth. "Expectant... He knew it was happening, and he did _nothing_ to stop it."

Sazh opened his mouth to speak, but when he found himself at a loss for words, he closed it, before a strong flicker of worry crossed his mind. "Lightning, you can't really be-"

Lightning cleared her throat. "I've been told that there are many things that I _can't_ do, and I've had yet to see any of those statements come true." She narrowed her eyes. "'Lightning, you _can't_ save her; becoming a l'Cie is permanent...'" Lightning hissed through her teeth. "'Oh, you _can't_ just leave the Sanctum's protection, you won't last a day outside the walls!'"

Sazh frowned. "I get the-"

"You can't ever fly again; the great lord Bhunivelze-!" Lightning suddenly caught hold of her breath, blinking back the moisture from beside her eyelids. "I've gotten _real_ good at doing things I _can't_."

With a silent nod, Sazh followed after her, until the alleyway had broken off into a wide, bustling street. "You really want to meet him?"

Lightning turned in place. "This needs to stay between us."

Sazh adjusted his stance to lean against a nearby street lamp. "The fallen are a tight-knit bunch, so just don't do anything _crazy_."

Lightning nodded.

Sazh let out a long sigh. "Alright then, but you'd better be on your best behavior; it's not just _your_ neck on the line..."

* * *

><p>The Vestige's exterior seemed nearly seamless upon first sight, but as Snow led them over to the side of the gigantic structure, a small, yet grandiose entrance awaited them just beneath a low archway, settled within the tower itself.<p>

"Hey, how old do you think this place is?" Hope glanced around at the glittering green lights, inlaid within the metal walls around them. "I haven't seen this kind of architecture before... Not even back in Cocoon."

Serah gazed up at the circular tower, staring out into the vast tunnels and hallways that led away from the main chamber. "I don't know... But maybe there's some information in here about it."

Snow strode over to stand beside a nearby pathway. "I did see a weird control panel in one of the rooms over here; we can try to find it again if you like."

Serah moved to follow after Snow, smiling all the while. "This is exciting! We could _really_ find something helpful in here, if this is actually from Cocoon..."

Hope glanced up as their footsteps echoed throughout the hall, before he looked back to see that Serah was walking along on her tiptoes, with a spring in her every step.

"Light told me you found a bunch of strange machines, right?" Serah looked up at Snow. "Can you show us where those are, too?"

Snow nodded. "Just try not to poke around them too much... We have no way of telling if they're dangerous or not."

Hope spoke up. "I remember hearing back home about machines that could talk and do things... Maybe they're something similar?"

Snow nearly shuddered. "I think I'd rather that they turn out to be the _non_-chatty kind..."

Serah tapped at his shoulder. "Where's your sense of _adventure?_" She grinned at him. "Who knows, maybe they're nice ones."

Snow grinned back after a moment. "I suppose so, but I've had more than my share of unfriendly machines since the fall."

Serah nodded. "Don't worry... If they look nasty, we can always fight them off."

"Hey, Serah?" Hope pointed at her shoulder. "Your bow is glowing."

Serah turned to look over at her back. "It _is_ pretty dark in here." She reached up to trace along the metal curve of the bow. "Don't worry about it; Mog just wants to help out."

Hope tilted his head to the side. "What exactly _is_ Mog? I've only ever seen a couple of familiars..."

Serah smiled at him. "Well, Lightning has Odin, but he stays with the other birds for the most part... But with familiars, looks are almost always deceiving." She giggled a bit. "I mean, Mog is a bow most of the time... But you should see him when something exciting is happening."

Snow held up his hands, revealing that his set of smooth, black gloves each bore a gleaming gemstone at the wrist. "Shiva and Nix."

Hope glanced between each glove. "Two? I've never heard of double familiars..."

Snow shrugged. "I guess it's a little unusual." He looked Hope over. "What about you, kiddo? Ever had the feeling that someone else was there with you?"

After a moment of thought, Hope shook his head. "I've heard that they're a little rare in the first place."

Serah nodded. "They usually take the form of a weapon, or something that you can easily carry with yourself." She smiled to herself, wandering away into the adjacent hall. "Light's a little different, though... She has her sword, but Odin can do more than that."

Hope watched as Serah walked over to a nearby room, and he moved to follow her. "So he's not just a bird?"

Snow chuckled under his breath. "Well, what do birds have?"

As Serah moved to stand before a nearby panel, her breath hitched as the room slowly came alight, glowing brighter and brighter within the silent, darkened Vestige.

Hope's eyes went wide, and after a moment, he stepped back with a quiet gasp.

* * *

><p>The tavern itself revealed no secrets upon first glance, but when Lightning moved up to examine the inhabitants while she crossed beneath the rickety doorway, she was greeted by an overall feeling of unease, and yet somehow, a sense of familiarity.<p>

Sazh cleared his throat. "Amodar, if we could have a word?" He moved over to stand in front of Lightning. "I know that you guys don't really keep up with the news from home, but-"

A stout, grizzled man rose to his feet with a quiet sigh. "Get the kid out of here, Sazh."

Lightning bit back a retort.

Sazh blinked twice. "_Sir_, if we could just..."

Amodar shook his head. "I don't have the will or patience to deal with _his_ lackeys in this century or the next." His gaze slid over to meet Lightning's own. "I'll say this _once_; we have no interest in redemption or repentance."

Lightning took a step forward. "I'm not here to-"

"No." Amodar waved his hand back and forth, stepping out into her path. "I've heard this line a _thousand_ times, and if you think I'm exaggerating-" His eyes lit up as Lightning lurched forth, but before she could so much as raise her hand into a fist, his own fingers closed around her wrist, pinning her arm back against the wall with a snarling grunt.

Lightning let out a hiss, striking off with her free hand, but it was quickly yanked to the side as well, and she was pushed back, only to crash down against a nearby table.

"Eh, little Seraphim..." Amodar's lip curled as he grabbed hold of her throat. "Have you ever taken a _single_ step out from Cocoon? Out of the _Sanctum's_ gaze?" He frowned, tightening his grip. "I suppose you must have, to find your way down here..."

Lightning choked, but she pushed back, slowly rising up from the polished surface of the table, before she moved to grip down tightly on the hands clamped around her neck. "_Fuck_... The Sanctum."

Amodar's eyes widened by a fraction. "Have I gone senile? A Seraph with a spine..." He suddenly chuckled, easing his hold away. "You'd better hope that your god isn't listening in, or you'll do better down here than you might intend."

Lightning inhaled, and as the breath filled her lungs, a faint, flickering outline began to hover just beside her shoulder-blades, but it had disappeared again within moments. "I'm not here on Bhunivelze's orders... Or anyone's, for that matter."

Amodar moved back with a grunt, easily retaking his seat. "Then I'd be curious to know why Sazh brought you here in the first place." He glanced to the side, meeting Sazh's gaze with a chuckle. "Not that I doubt your resolve, old buddy."

Sazh rolled his eyes. "Lightning can speak for herself, but I don't think it's any secret about what happened to Cocoon."

Amodar shrugged, before he reached away for a glass upon the counter. "I honestly couldn't give a damn what goes on in the homeland."

Lightning glanced about at the assorted patrons of the bar, noting that an odd, lingering energy hovered about each and every one of them. "Bhunivelze... He abandoned us when it fell."

Amodar raised a single eyebrow. "Makes sense. When shit hits the fan, he's never wanted to deal with it." He lifted the glass to his mouth. "But that doesn't quite answer my question."

Lightning swallowed, moving to sit straighter upon the edge of the table. "You'll need the context, first... We settled on a small fragment of the shell; it was kept floating by a stray gravitational field." She took a deep breath. "The Sanctum set up a permanent base to the west, but it was..." Lightning paused, gathering her thoughts. "Long story short, we had to leave. _Quickly_."

Sazh frowned. "Amodar... She saved my son."

With a slow nod, Amodar set down his drink. "So, why are you here?"

Lightning rose to her feet. "I've heard stories about the goddess, Etro." She took a step forward. "And of her fallen flock."

"I'd hardly call us a flock." Amodar chuckled. "But I've seen stranger groups, for sure..."

Lightning nodded. "I'm here to open formal communication, as well as to inquire-"

Amodar raised his hand. "Girlie, look _around_ you... Just play it cool, okay? This isn't a formal sort of place."

Lightning glanced over to see a snoring patron who was slumped across the bar, resting beside his own drool. "I gathered."

Amodar began to smile. "Good. Now tell me what you're here for."

Lightning nodded. "I have... Unfinished business with the 'great lord' himself."

Both Amodar and Sazh couldn't help but stare as a soft, flickering light swirled out along her back and shoulders, but the glow was soon slightly tinged with both unfamiliar color, as well as a strange, potent design at the edge.

Lightning nearly smirked. "We've discovered quite a few things since the fall..."

* * *

><p>With a short gasp, Serah stumbled away from the panel, but as the glow intensified, she found herself frozen in place, gazing out at the strong, pulsing lights that began to appear from within the Vestige itself.<p>

"Serah..." Snow turned to face her, and his eyes went wide. "This didn't happen before; what did you..?"

Serah shook her head with a shiver. "I didn't do _anything_..." She moved forward to touch one of the swirling lights, and to her surprise, it curled up around her fingertips, glimmering from within. "It's actually really pretty..."

Hope frowned at the lights around him, but after a moment, his expression softened. "It's not doing anything bad..."

Snow relaxed slightly. "Suppose not."

After a moment of silence, a low, crackling voice echoed out from beneath them. "Excuse me?"

Three sets of gazes turned to the floor, simultaneously widening at the sight they received.

* * *

><p>Amodar shrugged. "Well, you'd need a Nephilim."<p>

"A what?" Lightning asked, "I thought the followers of Etro could-"

Amodar shook his head. "Look, I don't have all day to explain this to you..." He folded his hands together. "Bhunivelze is a _god_, alright? You can't just walk up to him and air your grievances without ending up like _us_."

Lightning slowly began to nod.

"So, you'd need a Nephilim." Amodar grinned. "When the first handful of us settled here on Gran Pulse, you could imagine that the pickings were quite slim..."

Lightning glanced away. "That, I can."

Amodar laughed through his teeth. "To put it _simply_, when facing a god, you'd need an individual with the immunity of a human, _and_ the powers of a fallen Seraph." He leaned back in his chair. "That'd be a Nephilim."

After a moment, Lightning turned to face Sazh. "You're my only contact here; is there any way to find someone-"

Sazh held up his hands. "Look, I'm all for you sticking it to Bhunivelze where it hurts, but this already sounds like a suicide mission." His gaze softened. "I'll always appreciate you looking out for Dajh, but I can't just put the both of us in the firing line like that."

With a quiet sigh, Lightning nodded. "I'll just have to start searching, then..." She turned in place, glancing back at Amodar. "Thank you for the information."

Amodar waved her off. "Eh, any time, kiddo."

Sazh could only watch as his companion slowly moved out through the front door, and he nearly had to squint at the split-second ray of light that seared off into the air. "She's... A good kid."

Amodar shrugged, but there was something to his gaze, an air of genuine contentment that hadn't graced his features in centuries. "Eh, a little reckless..." He watched as the delicate outline of a feather drifted down beside the windowsill, before it landed gently upon the doormat. "But I guess you can't help but root for the likes of that."

* * *

><p>AN: I know it's probably not the best idea to start a new story while some of my others are still sorely neglected, but this little idea bit me on the butt a few weeks ago, and hasn't been willing to let go since. I'm also not sure when I'll get around to updating this, so don't hold your breath.

I was inspired to write this partially because of a story that I've since discontinued, as well as because of a song, but _also_ because of a certain writing prompt that intrigued me, in which Lightning and Serah, as well as Fang and Vanille were to switch their relative places within the canon storyline, for a 'what if?' situation; but as I make it no secret that I find the canon to be mostly a bunch of wasted potential and flimsy writing, I decided to set this one in an somewhat alternate universe like I usually do. (That's not to say that the canon setting itself isn't gorgeous, nor that the main characters are unmemorable, but there _is_ a reason that this game isn't looked upon with much fondness by the general majority.)


	2. Search

A thick, damp fog lingered about the winding streets, but as a pair of worn sneakers tread down across a weathered, stony rooftop, the mist curled around their owner, shrouding her path in white.

"Lightning! Wait up."

Lightning stopped in place, tugging her jacket to rest tighter around her chest. "Sazh? I didn't think you'd follow me."

Sazh's footsteps sounded somewhat unusual for a moment, before each pace evened out into heavier footfalls. "You're not the only one who can get around that quick..." Sazh moved up to stand beside her, crossing his hands against the back of his head. "I did mean what I said in there, but I guess it couldn't hurt to point you in the right direction, could it?"

Lightning blinked as a raindrop hit the bridge of her nose. "Well, I wouldn't want either of you to take the fall for this."

Sazh chuckled. "I've already had my fair share of falling..."

Lightning nearly winced. "Poor choice of words, I'm sorry-"

Sazh shook his head. "It's all old history, nothing you need to worry about." He shifted to let his hands drop to his sides, facing the street below. "But I've gotta tell you, this plan of yours doesn't seem all that practical... Why revenge, of all things?"

Lightning grit her teeth. "I never said it was revenge... Just unfinished business." She began to walk forward, passing deeper into the mist. "Serah, she was... For a while, she was a l'Cie."

Sazh moved to follow after her. "What sort of l'Cie? One with a focus?"

Lightning nodded. "We managed to stop it before it was too late, but it wasn't without consequence." She looked off into the distance for a moment, before she opened her mouth to speak. "I'd rather not discuss further into it, if you don't mind."

"Alright, but now that you mention it..." Sazh turned to face a nearby plaza, or more specifically, the towering structure above it. "A _l'Cie_ could be _just_ what we need in this situation."

Lightning followed his gaze. "L'Cie don't exist on earth..."

Sazh merely chuckled. "Maybe not a _living_ l'Cie... But have you ever wondered what happens to the ones who fail their focus?" He reached up to point at the top of the spire. "As chances would have it, I actually _know_ the poor sucker who lives up there."

Lightning looked up at the winding tower. "A fallen l'Cie..? A Cie'th."

Sazh nodded. "Most prefer the term 'watcher', from what I've gathered." He moved to stand beside the edge of the roof. "I think that this would be your best lead, but try listening to all that he has to say... If _I_ can't talk you out of this, maybe someone worse off than the both of us can."

With a quiet sigh, Lightning began to move forward, and for a split second, Sazh caught the outline of a small bird beside her shoulder-blades, before she dematerialized into a thin streak of light.

* * *

><p>"Woah." Hope moved to kneel within the center of the room, staring down into the circular, flickering screen. "I guess they <em>are<em> chatty..."

The voice crackled again. "Hello? If you could kindly remove the grate from the dispensary just behind you, it would be most appreciated."

Snow frowned at the screen below, although he could only make out a dizzying swirl of colors beneath the translucent floor-panels. "What would that even do, though?" He turned to look at the grate in question, before he nearly jumped back upon sight of a tiny, square machine.

"Hello. My name is Bhakti." The machine moved to tap along the bars with a tiny, metal grabber. "My friends are urgently awaiting my assistance, and I simply _must_ find a way out of this predicament as soon as possible."

Serah stared at the machine with wide, yet unwavering eyes. "How'd you get stuck in there?" She walked forward to inspect the tiny tunnel. "Doesn't it open from the inside?"

Bhakti's internal lighting dimmed considerably. "I am afraid not... As for how I ended up in this place, I cannot quite explain at present." He moved to poke beside his own set of mechanical eyes. "I fear that accessing my internal memory database while in my current level of charge would result in burning up what little energy I have left."

Serah began to frown. "Well, how can we get you out of there?" She moved to trace her fingertips around the weathered edge of the grate. "Is there anything we can do to help you? Some spare batteries, maybe?"

Bhakti rolled forward upon a set of thin tire-treads. "I am not entirely sure what form of energy cells may remain here, but any form of sustenance or assistance would be greatly appreciated."

Snow leaned to the side. "Okay... But you aren't gonna go crazy on us if we help you out, right?" He walked up to curl his fingers around one of the metal bars. "There's nothing in there about being hostile, right?"

Bhakti blinked once. "Of course not; I am programmed to assist any and all Seraphim that display no prior forms of aggression against either my physical or mental state."

Hope let out a quiet sigh. "That's good."

Snow stared down at the tiny, orange machine, before he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Don't make me regret this, then." His wrists suddenly flared up with a pale, blueish glow, before he tugged back, wrenching the grate away with a muffled grunt.

"Excellent!" Bhakti slowly rolled forward from the tunnel, and his eye-stalks began to swivel back and forth. "I must find some way to repay you."

Serah watched as Bhakti's lights began to dim even further, and her frown deepened. "Hey, you aren't out of the woods just yet..."

Bhakti swiveled in place. "Perhaps my friends left behind some form of battery, as you suggested."

Hope had already knelt down to rummage through a pile of debris, and he lifted up an odd piece of metal. "There's some stuff over here; come take a look."

Serah nearly gasped as Bhakti rolled out from the tunnel, plummeting down from his perch, but a quick, sharp puff of air kept him from clattering to the ground, and instead allowed him to land gently upon the metal floor.

Bhakti chirped. "I believe that I will be of much more use to you once I have regained access to my internal memory core." He rolled over to where Hope was searching. "May I ask you what year this is?"

Snow moved up to stand beside them. "Well... It's been a little hard to keep track of them, what with being in stasis and all..."

Serah nodded, walking over to help organize the debris. "From what I heard, before we got here... We'd been in sleep for at least fifty years since the fall."

Bhakti turned to face her. "'The fall?'"

Serah nodded with a tiny frown. "Yeah. Cocoon, it-"

Bhakti's lights nearly flickered away. "No... It cannot be."

Snow knelt down to gently pet the tiny machine. "Sorry little buddy."

"My _friends_, they had hoped to-" Bhakti quivered, sputtering slightly. "This must mean that they have failed..."

Serah leaned forward with a slight tilt of her head. "What are you talking about?"

Bhakti turned to face the pile of wreckage. "Please, before I-" He shook in place, crackling away.

Hope held up a translucent vial. "Hey, what about this?" A thin, murky liquid swirled within, and it almost seemed to glow within the low level of light. "Looks like it might have some charge left."

Bhakti moved to rest beside him. "_Quickly_, my friend..."

Hope held up the container beside Bhakti's mechanical form, before he spotted a gap in the smooth, orange metal that protected an internal form of wires and framework. "Here." Hope moved the vial beside the gap, and for a moment, all was silent, before a metal clasp lurched out to grab at the glass container, drawing it down to rest within the machine himself.

"Eager little guy..." Snow patted at Bhakti's outer plating. "Feeling any better?"

Bhakti said nothing for a short, yet lingering while, before he suddenly came alight, spinning around in place. "Oh, most certainly!"

Serah giggled to herself. "Glad to hear it."

Bhakti hummed for a moment, still swiveling back and forth. "Accessing internal memory... The core is thankfully still intact, but my aging processors seem to be unresponsive." He kept silent for while. "I may have our answers."

"Yeah?" Snow moved back to lean against a nearby wall. "What did you mean, just a minute ago?"

Bhakti turned to face him. "I was once a valued member of the very group of individuals that created this Vestige; we were tasked with both devoting our lives to the study, and hopefully the prevention of the fabled prophecy, that one that told of Cocoon's destruction, as well as the dreaded curse that would fall upon it beforehand."

Serah closed her eyes.

"But if Cocoon... If our home is already-" Bhakti turned to face the entryway. "If Cocoon has truly fallen, then where are we currently located?"

Hope cleared his throat. "Technically, this _is_ Cocoon." He gestured at the room around them. "Well, what's left of it; this is just a little sliver, though... We were lucky to find even that."

"That would explain why I am here..." Bhakti began to hum. "This Vestige was our base of operations, and my keeper scarcely left it while we were working together."

Serah opened her eyes to look at Bhakti. "Your keeper?"

"A woman of unparalleled knowledge!" Bhakti's lights flickered back and forth. "But I do not know what became of her once the Vestige fell under Sanctum investigation."

Snow grit his teeth. "Well, if you're looking for 'aggressive Seraphim'... Those are your guys."

"Indeed?" Bhakti swiveled in place. "I must look over my memory archives, but I fear that this measure of power will not last me for very long."

Serah leaned over to look at the draining vial. "Is there any other way to get you energy?"

Bhakti rolled over to the entryway. "Would there happen to be any source of sunlight nearby?"

Hope rose to his feet. "It'll be getting dark soon, but yeah... Just outside."

Bhakti clicked with a quiet hum. "Excellent! We can investigate this matter further once we've reached the exit."

Serah and Snow stood up to follow both Hope and Bhakti, but after a moment, Snow leaned to the side, whispering softly in Serah's direction. "Do you think we can trust this?"

Serah shrugged, before she whispered back. "I don't know, but he doesn't seem malicious..."

Snow almost frowned, but when he caught the look of genuine intrigue and excitement on Hope's face, Snow stilled, gazing down at the machine. "I guess we'll just have to see."

Serah merely nodded, before she tapped along the end of her bow, following them both out into the hall.

* * *

><p>Lightning's knees touched down against the smooth, layered tile, but as she rose up to her feet, she couldn't help but stare at the framework within the tower itself; the pointed structure tapered off into a narrow spire, yet inside of the circular structure, a slim, yet hunched statue sat in solitude upon the weathered floor.<p>

Sazh walked up behind her, folding his arms to rest across his chest. "Well, he's never been willing to tell me his name, but he doesn't seem to mind it when I call him 'Watcher'."

Lightning moved to stand directly before the statue, and after a moment of examining it, she stepped back with a silent gasp. "This _is_ a Cie'th..."

_Watch your tongue._

Lightning stood fast, but a strong, nearly overwhelming sense of unease swept across her entire form. "I'm sorry, I've just never seen a Cie'th so..." She paused, steeling herself. "So intact."

The statue resembled a large, humanoid shape, but it was curled in on itself, sheltered by a pair of twin, crystallized wings. _Your blood is that of the Seraphim, and yet you stand here upon the earth itself..._

Lightning nodded, stepping forward again. "I'm here to inquire your wisdom... Sazh told me that you could offer it."

The Watcher projected a rumbling sound, nearly akin to laughter. _ And what wisdom could an old idealist offer a fledgling Seraph? You would be much better off seeking your own lord's council, beneath this very steeple..._

Lightning shook her head. "Not council... Information." She moved her hands down into her jacket pockets, gazing deep into the sleek, mottled figure. "I need to find a Nephilim."

The Watcher kept silent for a long while. _And why do you need this?_

Lightning moved down into a sitting position, before she glanced up at Sazh, who had leaned against a wooden pillar beside the stature. "Because I have to make sure that my sister is never used again."

_Used... For? _At Lightning's silence, the Watcher softened his tone._ Tell me your story, o' child of Cocoon... Like all of the fallen, I cannot dare depart this mortal realm, nor can I see beyond its earthly barrier..._

Lightning took a deep breath. "She was branded a l'Cie."

* * *

><p>With a quiet, whimpering sniffle, Serah moved her fingers over the reddened mark, rubbing down just above the blackened ridges, as well as the bright, crystallized eye.<p>

"_Serah_." Lightning tightened her grip of Serah's hand. "Don't make it worse."

Serah covered her own mouth with her free arm. "Why-" Her voice was muffled as she bit back a cry. "Why aren't you _mad_ at me..?"

Lightning kept completely still for a brief moment, before she moved to pull the shivering form into her arms, holding her close. "Because we can all make mistakes."

Serah reached up to rub away the tears from her eyes. "Not like this... Not a l'Cie!"

Lightning hissed quietly through her teeth. "_Enough.._. What's done is done, so we can only move forward from it." She slowly patted along Serah's back with a sigh of her own. "We just have to figure out your focus before we run out of time."

Serah moved to look at the red, slumbering eye, embedded upon her upper arm. "How long do even I have? It was only _yesterday_; it couldn't have progressed too far by now!"

Lightning glanced at the room around them. "The Sanctum will know." She moved to stand, but Serah dragged her back for a long, tight hug, before she was released to rise up to her feet. "They shouldn't take much longer to see us."

Serah turned, staring up at her sister with bleary, shadowed eyes. "They'll know how to figure this out?"

Lightning looked at the door. "They're the best chance we have."

Serah relaxed slightly, but only by a fraction. "I'm... I'm really scared."

With a nod, Lightning moved to sit down on a nearby chair. "I know, but I also know that you're tougher than you think."

Serah almost flushed, tearing up once more. "You're just _saying_ that..."

Lightning shook her head. "Hey, what would Mog think of me if I lied to you?" A smile tugged at her lips. "Bring him out; you could use the moral support."

With a tiny, shaky laugh, Serah reached for the bracelet upon her wrist. "Mog, please come see us..."

After a moment of silence, the charms upon the bangle started to glow, before they disappeared into thin air, replaced by a soft, fuzzy creature that sat upright within the center of the room.

Serah smiled. "Good to see you."

Mog sat nearly tall enough to dwarf even Lightning herself, but despite his massive size, the fluffy beast merely cooed at Serah from above, gently pulling her into a hug.

Lightning exhaled from her seat, mouthing a silent 'thank you' to the conjured creature.

Mog somewhat resembled a large bear at first sight, but his fur was long enough to cover most of his eyes, while a strange, clock-like contraption lay embedded upon his broad, fluffy chest; he had a pink nose, the likes of which never seemed to be able to stop twitching, almost as if he was constantly sniffing for something.

"We'll get you out of this, Serah." Lightning moved to trace over the holster by her belt, simultaneously gripping the polished, leather side of her seat. "Trust me, okay?"

Serah nodded into Mog's fur.

With a soft, shivery sigh, Lightning closed her eyes, allowing the tension to bleed out from her limbs, but it was replaced just as quickly by a sense of cold, lingering dread, and try as she might, she couldn't shake the feeling out from deep, _deep_ within her bones.

* * *

><p><em>The fate of all l'Cie... <em>The Watcher rumbled in place. _Complete their focus, lest they fail... And become a Cie'th._

Lightning opened her eyes. "She still has the brand, but it's... Faded, and white."

Sazh hummed in thought. "But it's _still_ there?"

Lightning nodded. "Completely open, but she's still just like her normal self." With a slow shake of her head, Lightning stood. "I had never heard of a brand freezing itself like that, so I decided that I needed to make sure it _never_ comes back."

_Ah... You would rip it out at the source. _The watcher nearly chuckled. _And you need a Nephilim to face the great lord, himself._

Lightning stared out into the light, drizzling rain. "Serah still doesn't remember what happened... Or so she says."  
><em><br>_The watcher spoke._ And what was her focus?_

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "I'd rather not talk about it."

The Watcher kept silent for a long moment, before he spoke once again, clearer than before._ L'Cie are made of Seraphim, for the even the greatest god cannot touch a mortal soul... Such a being falls under Etro's domain, despite his best efforts to render her powerless. _The Watcher paused. _And yet, a human soul would surely crumble beneath the sight of such a heavenly being... This is why you need a Nephilim, no?_

Lightning nodded. "Yeah, so don't even try to talk me out of it."

The Watcher laughed quietly. _I will only offer you my sincerest advice... Abandon such a pursuit; a god has never been defeated in this realm or the next, and you would surely be destroyed for merely attempting it._

Lightning shook her head. "I don't want to defeat him." Her hands tightened within her pockets. "If I can help it, that is... I want to bargain with him."

_Oh? _The Watcher paused to think. _Why consider the Nephilim, then?_

Lightning's gaze turned to the sky, and she began to stare off into the clouds. "Bhunivelze disappeared when Cocoon fell... Most people say that the gods rarely appear when called, except for a prayer, or a challenge." She felt her jaw tighten with the bitter wind that swept over the rooftop. "And I'm done praying."

_Then... I will leave you with a word of caution. _The Watcher's statue almost seemed to shimmer, but Lightning could find nothing amiss when she looked it over. _Study the subject in depth; perhaps you could find better a solution for you kin, one less dangerous than this._

"Study the l'Cie?" Lightning let her gaze fall to the floor. "Almost _everything_ was lost when Cocoon fell, and I doubt that I could find anyone alive who would know very much about them."

The Watcher hummed. _Then you must search._

Sazh spoke up. "Hey, I have an old friend down here; _she_ might know a thing or two about l'Cie." He moved to gaze at the ground below. "She's a little... Eccentric, but she knows her stuff."

Lightning bit back a smile. "Thank you, Sazh."

The Watcher began to speak. _As for your Nephilim, perhaps you will find that your answer is already within reach._

Lightning turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

_Seraphim, heavenly beings blessed with both extraordinary skills and senses... Look, and ye shall find._

After a moment, Lightning shrugged. "I suppose I'll have to." Without another word, she moved away to walk upon the lower rooftop.

Sazh turned to wave at the statue as he followed after Lightning. "Take care of yourself, you hear?"

The Watcher kept silent, but Sazh swore that somehow, the winged statue looked a bit more lifelike than before.

* * *

><p>Turning slightly in place, Serah stared up into the dark, churning clouds, but after a moment, she felt a raindrop hit the side of her forehead. "Are you getting anything, even with all this..?"<p>

Bhakti sat beside her feet, holding a retractable solar panel atop his box-like form. "Very small amounts, but yes, there is just enough residual sunlight... This is a _very_ strange atmosphere, yet it is not unlike how I remember Cocoon's."

Hope moved to sit beside him. "They must have built this place long ago... Do you remember which year it was built?"

After a moment of silent processing, Bhakti rattled off a series of numbers, before he began to speak again. "Upon relaying that data beside my internal aging-sensors, I cannot say for sure, other than it must have occurred several millennia ago."

"Millennia..." Snow whistled. "They built that thing to _last_, huh?"

Bhakti let out an affirmative chirp. "One does not simply craft a house of information without warding it against the ages..."

"Information?" Serah moved to kneel beside the tiny machine. "The stuff you said about Cocoon... Would that still be inside, here?"

Bhakti chirped again. "Certainly, but first, you would need the proper technique to access even the simplest of encrypted documents." He swiveled in place for a moment. "For you _see_, my friends were researching a _highly_ controversial subject... Some of the general population believed that prophecies were never even meant to be questioned, nor tampered with."

Serah bit at her bottom lip. "But _you_ could access it, right?"

"Of course." Bhakti's internal lights began to flicker beneath the increasing rainfall. "But while I am thoroughly waterproof, my energy-levels must be carefully maintained within my current state of exhaustion... So I cannot offer my services in that way at the moment."

Serah nodded. "Of course." She leaned back to stare at the gentle rain. "Hey, I'm pretty sure that we have some old batteries back in town; they might not be very compatible with you, but we could always try them out."

Bhakti let out a quiet chirp. "That would be wonderfully generous of you!" He turned in place. "Would you lead me to this town of yours?"

Snow began to chuckle. "Unless you want to try handling the stairs, you might want to let me carry you down."

Bhakti wheeled over to rest beside Snow's boots. "I would normally just employ my hover mechanics, but in my current state of power-" He chirped when Snow hoisted him up. "You are quite strong, my friend!"

Snow cracked a grin. "The name's Snow! Snow Villiers."

Serah smiled as well. "I'm Serah Farron."

As Bhakti's eyes swiveled over to Hope, the young boy cleared his throat. "Hope Estheim."

"I am glad to have met all of you." Bhakti started to hum as they walked down upon the narrow, winding steps that led off into the village. "I did detect several signatures of individual Seraphim just a few months previous, but I was unable to wake myself in time to announce my presence."

"That's alright." Snow patted along the side of Bhakti's metal form. "I'm just glad we were able to rescue you from in there; it's not often you find working tech from Cocoon."

Bhakti let out a quiet hum. "Perhaps you could inform me of the current events once we arrive? It feels... So _strange_, to have been asleep for so long."

Serah nearly laughed. "Tell me about it..."

Hope glanced between the two figures before him, but his gaze suddenly lingered upon the strange, white marking along Serah's upper arm, as well as the way she subconsciously scratched around it. He almost thought to ask her about it, but after a moment of contemplation, Hope looked down at his own wrist, and his brow wrinkled at the memory of how he had obtained his own, jagged brand, so he simply kept silent, following after his friends as they walked into the tiny, yet bustling village.

* * *

><p>Lightning exhaled, watching as the rain began to quicken, and although she felt her lungs both shiver and tighten within her chest, she said nothing while Sazh led them both down a bustling sidewalk.<p>

"Okay, so if there's one thing to know about Chocolina..." Sazh scratched at his stubble with a quiet laugh. "She's an _insane_, rambunctious woman, but I couldn't love her any more than I already do."

Lightning quirked a slim, single eyebrow, fighting back a cough. "She sounds... Unique."

Sazh nearly grinned. "That's one way to put it, but she's got an unhealthy obsession with certain 'trinkets'... So watch your pockets."

Lightning tapped at her jacket. "I don't carry any money."

Sazh shook his head. "I'm not talking about money... Don't think that I didn't notice your friend, there."

Lightning winced as the invisible presence at her back detached, soon fluttering down to rest on her palm. "He's my _familiar_, not a trinket."

Sazh chuckled at the white dove. "Good to see you, buddy... Looking a bit smaller there, aren't you?"

Lightning bit back a smirk. "Just to blend in."

The dove cooed from within her hands, before he fluttered off to nestle within her jacket pocket.

"Odin... He's been a little reclusive, lately." Lightning reached in to pat along the bird's back. "But I think that it's just because we've all been so busy."

Sazh glanced over his shoulder. "You still have the other birds, right?"

Lightning nodded. "They're almost like _family_, now... All the way from Cocoon, but they still remembered us."

Sazh turned back to face the sidewalk. "I once had one, you know... A familiar."

Lightning looked down at her feet.

"But I guess she was still back up Cocoon, when it fell... They can't really find you, down here."

Lightning shook her head. "She had to have survived; familiars are _bound_ to their partner... They die, you die."

Sazh rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "Guess she didn't think to search for me... Or maybe she's still looking." He let out a long, quiet sigh. "But who knows? No use dwelling in the past."

Lightning attempted to clear her throat, but when she managed it, a low, wheezing cough rattled off within her chest, and she had to pause for a moment to regain her breath.

"Hey, you okay?" Sazh moved to stand beside her. "Not used to the air down here, huh?"

Lightning inhaled, sniffling slightly. "Yeah... Definitely." She coughed again, but it was muffled by her wrist. "I guess I'm just used to the atmosphere back home."

Sazh nodded, gently patting her back. "Just take it slow..."

Lightning nodded as well. "Is it much further? We could always just fly."

For a moment, something flickered at Sazh's shoulders, but the outline was very pale, and somehow hazy. "It's... Not too far."

Lightning nearly frowned at his tone. "Okay."

Sazh began to lead the way again in silence, keeping his hands at his sides, but he began to speak again as they neared a small, curious looking storefront. "Alright, just don't freak out if she decides to hug you..."

Lightning tilted her head to the side, but she said nothing as Sazh waved her over beneath a dim entryway, leading her further into a darkened, yet cozy little shop.

* * *

><p>"I've told you a <em>million<em> times, and I'll tell you again, for as _long_ as it takes..." The woman reclined in her chair, one leg folded over her other. "There's _nothing_ supernatural about your dreams, no matter how crazy or fucked up they can get."

A younger woman scrunched her nose at the first, standing on her tiptoes. "So _you've_ been having them _too?_ Mine aren't fucked _up_, Fang!"

Fang leaned back in her seat. "_Vanille_."

Vanille looked away with a huff. "What?"

Fang smirked. "Don't cuss." She began to close her eyes before her companion could grimace at her. "It's probably just those tacos from Birch Street; those've _always_ given you funky dreams."

Vanille paused on a retort, before she slumped slightly, stalking over to the side of the chair. "I guess so..." She leaned back against the side of the large, leather armchair. "But don't you think it's _strange? _I dreamt that it would start raining today, and it did!"

Fang shrugged, leafing through the magazine upon her lap. "You probably just saw the weather report somewhere yesterday without noticing it."

Vanille let out a sigh. "I just _knew_ it would happen, though..." After a moment of silence, she moved away from the chair. "You want pizza tonight, or should we stick to something milder?"

Fang shook her head. "Aunt's coming over, remember."

Vanille paused in place, before she slapped against her forehead with a gasp. "Dammit!"

"Don't _cuss_."

Vanille rolled her eyes. "Oh, says the gutter-mouth of the _year!_" She scrambled up to the coffee table to shove an armful of stray wrappers, packaging and tissues into a nearby bin. "Why didn't you remind me _earlier?! _I could've cleaned before she even got here!"

"Because she's a lunatic who doesn't give a crap one way or another..." Fang turned the page of her magazine. "She'll be too busy fawning over _you_ to notice the cockroaches, anyway."

Vanille let out a muffled shriek. "There aren't really-?!"

Fang waved her off with a grin. "Teasing, teasing, just relax..." She set down her magazine after a moment, swiveling her chair to face Vanille. "Just pick up a little of it; looks more natural with a bit of rubbish, anyway."

Vanille huffed under her breath, but she quickly busied herself with snatching up most of the more obvious pieces of litter, tossing them away into the bin to join their fellows.

After a while, Fang moved back to pick up her magazine, but a strange, yet familiar thought crossed her mind; she found an image of late-night visions, of rippled scars, strewn alongside a drifting, _fluttering_ white, but the more she lingered on it, the more each figure began to fade, so after a while, Fang simply shook her head, before she stood up to aid her sister with the current task at hand.


	3. Wings

The first scent that Lightning noticed upon entering the storefront was the downy scent of feathers, but she also caught wind of both grain and an odd, pungent incense as they walked into to a maze of counters and cabinets, as well as several, swinging perches that lay above.

A voice called out from somewhere in the back of the building. "Be out in a moment!"

Sazh chuckled to himself. "Don't worry, they'll only peck a _little_ at first..."

Lightning's eyes went wide when she caught sight of the various denizens within the dim little store, and after a moment, several peeping chicks fluttered about, scrambling over to greet her.

Sazh started to grin. "Miss Chocolina specializes in... _Certain_ types of animal-care." He knelt down to pick up one of the fluffy little birds. "Specifically chickens and other domestic birds."

The chick squeaked in his hand, flapping its tiny wings.

Sazh gently patted at the creature's head. "Messy little things, but they're still pretty cute."

Lightning attempted to ignore the various tiny birds that were scrambling to sit on her shoes. "So this... 'Chocolina' knows about l'Cie?"

Sazh nodded, setting down the little bird upon a nearby counter-top. "Yeah, she's pretty much a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Cocoonic lore... Not that we have much use for it, down here."

Suddenly, a tall, scantily clad woman burst out from a nearby door, struggling to push a large, feathery _something_ back into the room she had come from. "No, _no!_ Back inside for now, it's not nearly time for our walk yet!"

Lightning caught a quick glimpse of the towering creature, but the unusual woman managed to coax it away, pushing the door shut with a grunt.

Sazh was almost immediately tackled in a hug, so with a chuckle, he began to mutter under his breath. "Nice to see you too..." He waved over at Lightning. "Light, this is Chocolina."

Chocolina hopped away from her hug with Sazh to shake Lightning's hand, smiling all the while. "Another _Seraphim!_ How wonderfully _wonderful_ to meet you!"

Lightning paused to examine the unusual aura around Chocolina's body; it was similar to what Sazh and the other fallen possessed, however, unlike theirs, a certain, airy sensation hovered about within it, and it nearly reminded Lightning of her own. "You aren't... Fallen."

Chocolina grinned at her. "Not officially, nope!" She bounded away to gather up an armful of birds from the floor. "But upon a chance visit down here to Gran Pulse, I discovered a most _unusual_ breed of bird, so I _just_ had to stay here and learn as much as I could about them!"

Sazh stifled a laugh as Chocolina dropped the birds down upon a nearby desk.

"But during my many, _many_ years on this particular planet, I've found myself quite accustomed to it." Chocolina clapped her hands together, and the chicks all turned to face her. "Now, time for a nap! I have some friends I need to speak with, and we could use a little quiet for it."

The little birds began to scamper away into a nearby wooden box, and Lightning glanced down as the chicks upon her shoes ran off to catch up with their fellows.

"I have _so_ many questions to ask you!" Chocolina bounced over to stand before Lightning, gesturing at a nearby circle of chairs. "When I heard about what happened to Cocoon, I could scarcely even believe it! A place _that_ sturdy falling apart? Unheard of!"

Lightning allowed herself to be guided over to an armchair. "I have some things to ask you too, actually..."

Chocolina began to beam at her, flopping down into another chair. "A question for a question, then!"

Sazh took a seat as well. "You won't mind if I listen in?"

Chocolina reached to swat at the side of his arm. "Don't be _silly!_ Information should be freely given; of course you can stay and listen." She turned to look at Lightning. "I'll ask mine first if you don't mind; what became of the shell itself? I've already asked several different people that might have known, but they told me it happened many years ago!" Chocolina set down her arms with a huff. "_Talk_ about being kept out of the loop!"

Lightning cleared her throat. "Well, when the outer shell started to buckle, evacuations were already starting to take place... And most people were put under stasis to survive the risk of impact." She began to lean back with a silent sigh. "My sister and I were... We went into sleeping at separate times, but we managed to find each other once the dust had settled." Lightning closed her eyes. "There were other containers strewn all around the area, so we were able to wake up quite a few of them."

Chocolina frowned. "But... What caused the destruction in the first place?"

Lightning held back a smile. "I think it's my turn for a question." She opened her eyes. "What do you know about branded l'Cie? Specifically a white, frozen mark."

Chocolina's eyes went wide. "That's... Are you serious?"

Lightning nodded.

Chocolina quickly hopped to her feet, and she moved over to rummage through the drawers of her desk. "It must have been the prophecy, but I thought that was supposed to be utter hogwash! They _proved_ it so!"

Lightning's lungs began to tighten. "Prophecy?"

Chocolina soon returned with a pile of worn, aging papers. "Yes, yes! A l'Cie, chosen to stop the destruction of life as we know it, one with an accursed brand..."

Lightning stared down at the flowing texts that had been offered to her. "I can't read this."

Chocolina frowned. "You can't?" She paused. "They didn't keep teaching kids how to read the old tongue? How... Disappointing."

Lightning glanced away. "I'm not really sure why."

Chocolina let out a sigh, before she sat down once more. "I guess that Common is easier to teach than Cocoonic." She bit back a grin. "But don't even get me _started_ on Gran Pulsian..."

Sazh spoke up. "You know Gran Pulsian?"

Chocolina nodded. "As a scholar, I _pride_ myself on knowing several different ancient languages, even ones that aren't in usage anymore!" She set down the papers on her lap. "I have a few close friends that I've been looking after, and they wanted to learn their old native tongue, so I was more than happy to teach it to them." Chocolina looked back at Lightning. "But to answer your question, I do know quite a bit about l'Cie brands, but a white mark is only spoken of in prophecy and myth."

Lightning nodded after a moment. "But have you heard of a brand ever _stopping?_ Without the focus even being completed... Without becoming a Cie'th."

Chocolina shook her head. "It sounds very unusual..." She tapped her fingers together. "I _have_ heard of people completing something _close_ to their focus, yet not quite finishing it, to which they get put into crystal sleep until the time is right."

Lightning thought in silence for a moment. "Like stasis..."

Chocolina nodded. "Almost _exactly_ the same; our own methods of artificial sleep were inspired by the way a successful l'Cie is instantly crystallized." She smiled again. "I think you owe me another answer." Something suddenly rustled out from Lightning's pocket, to which Chocolina gasped, staring down at the pearly dove. "A familiar! How interesting..."

Lightning moved to stroke at the feathers around Odin's neck. "Yeah." She smiled down at the dove, before she looked back up at Chocolina. "What other questions do you have?"

Chocolina nodded. "Are there many others that survived? You said your sister made it out, along with the rest..." She frowned a bit. "But you're the first fellow Seraph that I've seen in many ages."

Lightning slowly glanced at the ceiling. "After we woke up from the stasis cluster, we decided to travel for a while... It was pretty rough, but we eventually found a small shard of Cocoon, which was just floating around up there." She looked back down. "We settled down there after a bit of... Conflict, with the Sanctum."

Chocolina nodded in thought. "If you were able to settle it, it must have retained both its original atmospheric conditioners and an artificial gravity core..." She kept quiet for a moment, before she clapped her hands together. "I'm so sorry to cut this so sort, but I _do_ have a previous arrangement that I simply can't miss..." Chocolina began to grin at Lightning. "_But,_ if you have more questions to ask, the shop is always open 'til six!" She reached over to poke at Sazh's shoulder. "And any friend of Sazh over here is a friend of mine!"

Sazh nearly rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah..." He soon smiled back at her. "You doing okay, by the way? Nobody's been troubling you?"

Chocolina glanced over her shoulder. "I _have_ gotten... Certain 'complaints' about the noise level." She bit at her bottom lip. "But the chickies are just so cooped up in this little shop! _I_ can't help it if they want to run around and squawk for a bit!"

Lightning quirked an eyebrow when a loud thump echoed from the back. "What sort of animal was that..?"

Chocolina began to laugh. "I suppose they don't quite have a name yet! He's a crossbreed between my own special strain of chicken, and a _very_ large bird from southern Gran Pulse!" She stood up to walk over to the back door. "Come and say hello if you like, but I _do_ need to get ready to close up shop for the night."

Slowly, Lightning rose to her feet. "It's friendly, right?"

A massive, fuzzy head suddenly moved out from the open doorway, and a loud squawk nearly rattled the building itself.

"Beaky, _no!_" Chocolina covered her face with one of her hands. "You need to be _quiet_, mister!"

"Damn..." Sazh shook his head, gazing up at the gigantic bird. "How the hell are you keeping that thing in an apartment like this?"

Chocolina rolled her eyes, patting the bird's neck with her free hand. "Lots and _lots_ of birdseed!"

Lightning watched as Chocolina struggled to keep the giant bird from running out into the store, before she stood up, slowly walking over to the commotion. "He probably just wants to race around."

Chocolina frowned. "We do go for walks as often as we can, but a bird with _this_ much energy..."

After a moment, Lightning nodded. "If I have some free time... I'd be happy to take him out for one."

Chocolina began to beam at her. "That would be _wonderful!_ But, what could I offer in return?"

Lightning turned to look up at the fuzzy bird, before she reached over to pat the side of his head. "Teach me Cocoonic."

For a brief moment, Chocolina's entire aura went still as she searched deep into Lightning's eyes, but after a short period of silence, she started to speak again with a laugh in her voice. "I'd be happy to! It's not often that you see people interested in the way things used to be..."

Lightning merely blinked when Odin fluttered over, landing atop her shoulder. "Knowing what I'm after, I might just need to learn it anyway." She began to move back, but she reached over to pat the larger bird again with her palm. "I do need to get back home before dark, or my sister might just try to come find me down here..."

Chocolina nodded at her. "We'd love to see you again at any time during the week." She moved to ruffle at the patch of spiky feathers atop the bird's head. "And don't worry, Beaky here is the most rambunctious of the group..."

Lightning walked back to stand beside Sazh. "Sazh, thank you for this." She lowered her voice a bit, watching as Chocolina began to maneuver both herself and the bird away into the back room. "She seems... Pretty knowledgeable on exactly what I need."

Sazh nodded with a tiny grin. "I had a feeling she would be... You headed on home?"

Lightning nodded. "Even with the cloaking device we found, I don't like being this far from home for too long."

Sazh nodded as well. "You take care of everyone up there, okay?" He patted at Lightning's unoccupied shoulder. "I'll have some more stuff ready for Dajh by the time you get back."

"I'll let him know." Lightning moved to stand within the entryway with Odin beside her neck. "Hey, you ready to go?"

Odin merely cooed at her, ruffling his wings with quick a shake.

"Chilly, I know..." Lightning looked back at Sazh. "See you soon."

Sazh nodded, offering her a tiny wave, and for a split second, he could see a translucent, yet _mighty_ set of wings by her sides, before Lightning was gone, and the door swung shut with a click.

* * *

><p>"So you're telling me..." Fang began to lean back against the side of the refrigerator, idly picking at a stray hangnail on her thumb. "That all of this crap can actually form a coherent... Something."<p>

Vanille currently had her face buried deep within the dark and mysterious depths of aforementioned refrigeration device, but after a moment, she leaned back to call out a response. "It's not _my_ fault you pick 'whatever looks good' when it's your turn to restock!" She soon returned with an armful of various jars and containers. "Unless you'd rather go with the pizza?"

Fang shrugged. "Suppose it couldn't hurt to experiment..." She eyed an unusual patch of fungal growth within one of the jars. "Actually, let's go with pizza."

Vanille rolled her eyes as she stuffed all of the food back into the refrigerator. "Whatever we do, let's just do it before-" She looked up as the doorbell rang. "Damn."

Fang walked out into the kitchen. "What'd I say about cussing?"

With a giggle, Vanille jumped over to catch up with her. "Nothing you haven't said before."

Rolling her eyes, Fang soon walked out into a narrow hallway, before she yanked open the front door with a grin. "Hey, good to-" She was suddenly wrapped in a tight hug, and Fang found that the words went silent on her tongue when an odd, yet not unpleasant apparition lingered just at the edge of her vision, but she couldn't quite catch sight of it. "Haven't seen you in ages..."

Vanille ran up to them with a beaming smile. "Aunt Chocolina!" She was quickly tugged into the hug as well.

"It's good to see you, too!" Chocolina hummed into the hug. "How are my favorite nieces?"

Fang rolled her eyes again. "We're your _only_ nieces."

Chocolina clicked her tongue as she moved back from the embrace, shaking her head. "I wouldn't be so sure... It's a _big_ family tree, after all."

Vanille stood on her tiptoes. "Well, _Fang_ forgot to tell me you were coming, but I have something to show you anyways!" She moved back through the entryway and into a nearby living-room, gesturing for them to follow.

With a shake of her head, Fang lowered her voice to a whisper. "Just... Humor her, okay? She's going through a phase."

Chocolina giggled quietly, before she whispered back. "What sort of phase?"

Fang covered her eyes with her hand, releasing a sigh. "Thought she'd be too old for this, but... Magic, places in the sky." She let her arm fall, before she opened her eyes. "People that can fly."

Chocolina's breath caught, but she kept the smile on her face, albeit a little more strained. "Well, where do you think this is coming from?"

Fang shrugged. "Dreams, she says... I dunno."

As they began to walk out into the tiny room, Vanille bounded up with several pieces of paper in her hands, to which she held one up with a grin. "Look! I've been having dreams about this... It's pretty, right?"

Chocolina moved to stare at the pale, circular structure, which was surrounded by long, puffy fields of clouds that stretched out to cross even the edges of the page; a group of sleek, slender airships circled about the sphere, leaving colorful trails of fog in their wake.

"It's... _Very_ pretty." Chocolina's voice went low, and she moved to sit down, patting the sofa cushion beside her. "Tell me about these dreams."

Vanille quickly sat down beside her. "Well, there's always lots of people in them!" She handed over a drawing of a cascading fountain, which was designed in such a way that artificial gravity spheres would cause the water to bend about in winding, ribbon-like shapes. "And everything's so... Bright and _cheery_, it almost always makes the dream a good one!"

Fang moved over to look at the pictures as well. "Should I get that pizza ordered?"

Chocolina smiled up at Fang. "That would be wonderful." She pointed at another one of the drawings. "And what is this about?"

Vanille looked down at the image of a vast, powerful eagle, with its wings stretched both wide and far. "It was flying around when I was walking around one of the towns." She pointed at the first picture. "That place... It's like a floating _continent_; there are more cities in there than I can count!"

Chocolina reached over to trace her fingertip above the head of the massive, white eagle. "Did he seem friendly?"

Vanille nodded. "He was just flying around, before he landed somewhere I couldn't see." As Vanille spoke, Fang began to walk into the other room with the phone. "But, Fang... I don't think she really believes that it might be out there."

Chocolina reached up to touch the bright red pendant at her neck. "Well, maybe dreams aren't quite so... Imaginary as we think they are." She moved to wrap her arm around Vanille's shoulder. "When you're older, I'll tell you about some of the more interesting places our family comes from."

Vanille's eyes went wide. "I'm not _that_ young... Can't you tell me about them now?"

Chocolina laughed under her breath. "Fourteen is a little young for _this_ story... You might not even believe me when I tell it to you."

Vanille began to frown, biting at her bottom lip. "I want to know _everything_ about us... Fang won't even tell me much about mom." She closed her eyes for a moment, before she opened them, staring back at her aunt. "Can _you_ tell me what mom was like? Was she like you?"

Chocolina took a deep breath, holding it tight. "Not... Not much."

With a tiny nod, Vanille let out a sigh. "Oh."

After a moment of silence, Chocolina looked back at the pile of drawings. "Will you show me the rest of these? You're a wonderful artist..."

Vanille began to smile again. "They're just _imaginary_, though."

Chocolina let out a laugh. "That doesn't make them any less interesting!"

Vanille's gaze settled on an image half-hidden beneath the others, so she tugged it out, pointing at a solitary figure in the center. "I saw her later... With the eagle."

Chocolina's eyes went wide.

"Isn't she strange? Pink hair... But it looks almost natural on her." Vanille sighed quietly. "She's so _pale_, but so was everyone in there." She turned the page to reveal another image. "Her friend is even paler."

Chocolina stared down at the depiction of a young woman, side-by-side with what looked to be a younger version of herself, and yet they both carried very different expressions of their faces. The first stared down at her companion with an almost-smug look on her face, while the second had been drawn within an acrobatic stance; her arms were flung out to the side, with a expression _screaming_ that she couldn't have _possibly_ pulled off the maneuver she had just accomplished, yet just beside her shoulders lay a most unusual sight; she bore a second set of arm-like appendages, the likes of which flared out into two pale, powerful wings.

* * *

><p>A young woman sat quietly atop the straw-covered roof, keeping still despite the gentle rain that trickled down against her skin; the liquid had almost completely soaked her hair, darkening the pink strands to stick down against her neck and shoulders.<p>

"Serah?" A voice called out from below, slightly muffled by the rain. "Serah, are you out here?"

After a moment, Serah looked down to see that Snow was walking out from a nearby house, so she smiled, focusing on the pool of energy that swirled just within her shoulder-blades, until the rain suddenly stopped falling upon Snow's head.

"What the..." As he looked up, Snow began to laugh in recognition. "Hey! What're you doing out in the rain?"

Serah merely smiled, extending the tip of her wing to tap at the top of his head. "Just waiting for Light."

After a moment of silence, save for the rainfall, a pair of gentle, yet heavy footsteps touched down beside her, and Serah was suddenly sheltered beneath a second set of massive, speckled wings.

"Can't let you catch a chill..." Snow began to close his eyes, tucking his own head beneath his soft, light-brown feathers. "I'll wait with you, if you don't mind."

Serah reached up to touch along the side of his face. "I don't mind."

Snow chuckled. "Good... 'Cause I wasn't about to let you freeze yourself to death out here."

Serah fought back a shiver. "It's not _that_ cold."

With a quiet scoff, Snow brushed his fingertips over her shoulders. "That's not what your goose-bumps say."

Serah nearly rolled her eyes. "Well, _your_ wings are going to get wet..." She looked up at the droplets of rain that trickled down over his larger flight feathers, as well as the smaller, softer plumage that lay closer to his shoulders. "Are you sure you'd rather not wait inside?"

Snow reached up to shake at his own wings from the inside, causing a small spray of water-droplets to fly away from them in an arc. "I could ask you the same thing..." He looked down at Serah's smaller, white wings, which had been tucked up against herself and his chest. "She should be back soon, right?"

Serah nodded with a soft, quiet yawn, and she nearly closed her eyes after a moment. "She's seemed a little... Day-dreamy, lately."

"Oh?" Snow tilted his head back to look at the horizon, watching it from beneath the droplets that trickled off from his wings. "Something on her mind?"

Serah shrugged. "I've never been down there... But she's been talking about this one place that she's been going to... What's it called?" She took a moment to think. "Gran Pulse."

Snow squinted at the horizon. "And why's she going there?"

Serah moved to the side, staring up at him with a smile. "She said something about friends... People out there that might be able to help us."

Snow almost frowned. "Friends... Humans?"

Serah blinked up at him with a shrug. "I don't think so, but she wasn't very specific." After a moment of silence, she let her eyes fall shut. "Just resting a bit."

Snow chuckled. "Sure..." He winced a little when Serah flicked the top of his nose with her index finger, but after a while, he began to smile as her breathing slowed, relaxing beneath the steady, yet gentle patter of rain.

* * *

><p>A strong, battering wind nearly shook her off-course, but Lightning merely grit her teeth, flapping harder against the gathering clouds. "Odin... I could use a little help, here."<p>

Swirls of colorful light appeared at her shoulders, moving down to surround the base of her wings, and they began to both reinforce and guide each stroke of her muscles as she fought back against the wind, holding a large, paper bag to her chest.

"Thank you..." Lightning closed her eyes for a moment, before she inhaled, filling her lungs with the fresh, yet freezing air. "You want to sleep inside tonight? Or will you go and find the rest of them?"

She received no verbal response, but Lightning felt a soft, gentle sensation within her spine, one that lingered throughout the passing moments, even as she dipped beneath the clouds.

"I'll take that as a yes..." Lightning braced herself as she burst through the misty barrier that kept the floating sliver of Cocoon in place, and her eyes began to adjust themselves to the approaching holographic veil, a guise that kept the ground below hidden from peering gazes, but fortunately, she knew exactly where to look to find the massive, curving land-form that loomed just beneath her. "Nearly home."

As she tucked her wings in to descend, Lightning looked down to see a tiny, winding canyon, one that seemed empty upon first sight, but as she drew closer and closer to the ground, her eyes widened to see a small settlement within the ravine, or more specifically, the large figure below that sat perched atop the roof of her house.

She soon landed with a quiet thump, moving to hold the damp, yet sturdy paper bag in one hand. "Snow."

Snow looked up, before he adjusted his wings aside to see her face. "Lightning... Welcome back." He tried to smile up at her, but her expression revealed no fondness for his presence, so Snow took a deep breath, before he began to speak as quietly as he could. "Serah wanted to wait out here for you; I was just making sure she kept dry."

Lightning looked down at her sister. "She doesn't look it."

Snow frowned. "Well, she could've gotten a lot-" He cleared his throat as Lightning turned away. "Look, I _know_ I didn't leave you with the best first impression-"

Lightning snapped back to face him. "Really? Barging in during a _crucial_ moment of-" She paused, slowly releasing her breath. "I know you were just trying to help us, but it was a stupid move... And stupid moves can get us _killed_ these days."

Snow let out a quiet sigh. "I'm sorry." He moved his hands beside Serah's arms, holding her close. "But I _really_ do care about her... Give me a chance to prove it?"

Lightning narrowed her eyes, and she kept silent for a long moment. "One chance." She looked to the side. "Don't screw it up."

Snow's breath caught as Lightning leapt down from the roof, but after a moment, he exhaled, gently shaking Serah awake. "Serah!"

She stirred with a mumble, staring up at him with a bleary gaze. "Hmm?"

Snow grinned. "Light's back... She said she'd give me a _chance_, Serah!"

Serah's eyes flew open, and she sat up straight as quickly as she could muster. "What? You're serious?"

Snow bit back a laugh. "I would _hope_ so... She sounded like she meant it."

With a grin, Serah took hold of his hands, guiding him down to the edge of the roof. "We should... Try to do something nice for her!" She tugged Snow over to the side, before she hopped down herself with a giggle. "Light!"

Lightning sighed from inside the house. "Keep it _down_, people are sleeping."

Serah shook the rain out from her hair, pushing through the doorway. "Did you really mean it? Snow's-" She paused as Snow stopped just outside of the door. "Come on in, it's okay."

Snow slowly walked over to stand within the entryway, but he stilled to look at Lightning's expression. "We've got some news for you, actually..." He startled when her gaze sharpened, before he held up his hands, shaking his head. "Nothing serious! We just discovered a new friend, today... Up in the Vestige."

Lightning turned in her chair, staring out at both of them. "A friend."

Serah nodded with a grin. "A little robot! His name is Bhakti, and we helped him get out of there to find him some batteries." She pointed at a nearby window, leading Snow inside so that she could close the door behind them. "He's _really_ friendly, so we brought him back down here with us to wait for when you got back."

Lightning inhaled a deep breath, rubbing at her temples. "You brought an unidentified machine out of an ancient ruin down to our _only_ base of operations..."

Serah started to frown. "Well, when you put it like that..." She shook her head. "He wasn't _anything_ like the Sanctum had; and I don't think they could get near enough to plant him in there, what with the scouting parties in action."

Lightning closed her eyes, breathing deep. "I'll look into it tomorrow." She shivered quietly as her wings bloomed out into existence, falling to rest at her back. "I'm just a bit... Tired from the flight."

Serah walked over to stand beside her. "What happened today?" She pulled up a seat at the table, before she gestured for Snow to sit down as well. "Did everything go alright?"

Lightning nodded. "Spoke to Sazh again; we have some valuable information now, and I might have made a few more contacts for us down there."

Snow cleared his throat. "Sazh, Dajh's father, right?"

Lightning opened her eyes. "Yeah."

Serah reached over to squeeze at Lightning's shoulder. "You don't look so good; did something happen?"

Lightning shook her head. "Just a difficult flight, lots of wind and rain." She blinked twice to clear her vision. "The air down there is so... Heavy."

Serah frowned. "Hard to fly in?"

Lightning nodded. "You have _no_ idea... It's like the gravity in that place is ten times as strong." She leaned back in her chair, slowly stretching out her wings. "I did bring something back for you, though."

Serah perked up, sitting straight in her chair. "A present?"

Lightning nearly chuckled. "Close... Check the bag over there." She gestured at the counter behind her, before she turned to look over at Snow. "If you don't have plans already, you can eat with us tonight."

Snow began to smile. "Well, as long as you don't mind..." He blinked as Serah started to exclaim over the unusual, foreign cuisines within the bag, rummaging throughout its contents with a beaming expression on her face.

Slowly, a tiny smile worked its way over Lightning's face. "No, I don't mind."


	4. The Reveal

The crack of wooden blades sounded off clearly within the crisp, morning air, echoing back and forth along the concrete platform as the two combatants circled each other, before they slowly began to wind back.

"You're getting faster..." Lightning moved her blade to the side, examining the various dents and notches scattered upon the wooden surface. "At this rate, we might have to find something more sturdy."

Hope stilled to catch his breath, before he slumped down against a nearby pillar. "You _really_ don't let up..." He tipped his head back after a moment to stare at the rain, which had thankfully evened off into a light drizzle. "I'm not complaining, though; you're a good teacher."

Lightning set her sword down against a fallen piece of concrete, before she moved to sit beside Hope. "I once had a good one, myself." She inhaled, slowly biting at her bottom lip. "Just wait 'til we get to mid-air combat, though..."

Hope forced out a laugh. "You'd probably just knock me down from the air..."

Lightning kept silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "Years ago, I might've told you never to aim for an opponents wings... That it would be dishonorable." She held her breath, focusing as the energy within her back began to swirl, churning in place. "But... We might be going up against an enemy that won't afford you the same kind of mercy."

Hope slowly began to nod.

"Hey, you've seen a gunblade, right?" Lightning sat upright. "It's a very versatile weapon, but without proper training, you're more likely to stab _yourself_ than your opponent."

Hope shook his head. "No up close, no."

Lightning suddenly held up her hand. "Odin."

Within mere seconds, a long, silvery weapon materialized against her palm, fitted with a wide, double-barreled gun-chamber, which rested just beneath a sharp, flat blade.

"You can't fire it quite as efficiently, not without..." Lightning rose up to flick the blade aside, transforming the weapon into a simpler firearm. "Shifting it... But when you want to enter melee again, you do it like _this_." She swung her arm to the side, and the blade snapped out, whistling off through the air as she gutted an imaginary enemy.

Hope tracked the edge of the blade as Lightning moved around the area in a steady, yet flowing set of combat routines, and he noticed that she kept her eyes both on the space in front of her as well as the air above, occasionally allowing for an upward strike, while her other arm seemed to unconsciously clutch at something, as if it could protect her from ground-level attacks.

"I _used_ to have a shield for these..." Lightning suddenly spun in place, and her blade snapped back, theoretically allowing two bullets to fly forth. "But I lost it before we even went into stasis."

Hope started to stand. "Could you maybe... Get a new one somewhere?"

Lightning's routine began to unwind, and she slowly finished the set with a sharp, forward strike, before the gunblade disappeared from her outstretched hand. "We'll just have to see." She rose up into a standing position. "But I don't have any idea where to find a capable smith in this day and age."

Hope moved over to where he had set down his own sword, but as he knelt over to pick it up, the white feather fell out from his pocket, landing just beside the blade itself. "Hey, do you think they have smiths down on that planet you went to?"

Lightning turned to face him. "It's called Earth... And it's the only other habitable one within this cluster of atmosphere; Cocoon was actually hovering next to it, for a while." She glanced over at the edge of the concrete plaza, staring down at where the platform crumbled away at the edge. "They seem to use advanced artillery as their main form of weaponry... So _maybe_, but I doubt that they could make me a decent shield."

Hope reached down to pick up the feather. "Do you think, maybe we could _all_ go down there sometime? Just to see what it's like."

Lightning grit her teeth. "This isn't like Cocoon... Everyone's free to leave whenever they like."

Hope nearly smiled to himself, twirling the feather between his fingertips. "I guess you're just doing a good job, then... It already feels like you're our leader."

Lightning paused. "I'll keep us as safe as I can, but don't get into the habit of looking up to me." She raised her hand to cover her brow as the clouds began to part. "If this town is _ever_ going to stand on its own two feet, we can't have just one party making all the decisions."

Hope walked over to stand beside her, carrying both his blade and the feather in each of his hands. "I think that you're the only one who knows the way down there, though... We'd need you to guide us."

Lightning nodded. "One of these days, I will... After I've fully scouted out the city Sazh is operating from."

"What's it called?" Hope smiled a bit. "Do they name their cities like we do?"

"Vallis... It's in the continent of Gran Pulse." Lightning stared up at the rolling sky. "It has buildings taller than _anything_ I've ever seen; they even go up into the clouds."

Hope's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"

Lightning nodded. "I was almost tempted to fly up to the top and have a look around, but down there, Seraphim aren't... Well, we aren't even thought to exist." She turned, facing the flowing hills that led up to the village canyon. "The fallen all live in secret, you know... They mostly fly invisibly, like I've had to do."

"Hey, will you teach me that too?" Hope set the feather back into his pocket. "It was pretty amazing what you did yesterday..."

Lightning held up her right hand. "It's a simple trick; have you ever tried any magic before?"

Hope shook his head.

With a snap of her fingers, a soft, translucent material bloomed out over her hand, shrouding her skin in magical energy. "I've learned to cast it faster than we can see, but you should start with the basics; focus on the energy in your hands."

Hope closed his eyes to concentrate, slowly holding up his hands. "Like this..?"

Lightning shook her head. "Think of it... Like an extension of the energy in your shoulders; you could even envision it like I do, where your 'wings' keep you out of sight."

After a moment, a foggy patch of magic started to hover about Hope's hands and wrists, but he could barely keep a hold of it, and it quickly began to fade. "I think this one will take practice, too..."

"Definitely." Lightning walked over to the grass edge of the concrete platform, stepping down into the field. "But that's pretty decent for a beginner, you know."

Hope followed after her. "I'll be sure to keep working on it, but I _was_ thinking..." He looked up at the distant canyon walls. "What if we used one of the empty buildings we have as a school? Get everyone on the same page about things, you know?"

Lightning turned back to look at him with an expression he'd never seen her show before. "That's... Actually a _very_ good idea." She glanced back at the grass. "I'll talk to Serah about it; she did mention an interest in learning advanced history back when we were kids... Maybe she would want to teach people some of what she knows."

Hope kept silent as they walked out within the field, but he occasionally turned to glance at the rustling grass, watching as the dewdrops and water from the previous rainstorm came alight beneath the rising sun.

"I met someone new, yesterday." Lightning kept her gaze on the village ahead. "Said she was a scholar."

"Down on Earth?" Hope looked back at Lightning. "Was she... Like us?"

Lightning nodded. "Seraphim, yeah... She had a shop with these _strange_ little birds; it didn't even seem like they could fly."

Hope frowned. "A bird that can't fly? What, were their wings..?"

Lightning shook her head. "Not clipped, just small and fluffy... There was also this _huge_ one; I doubt it could even manage to get airborne."

"Bigger than Odin?" Hope held back a smile. "I remember when you guys flew over the village, that one time..."

Lightning nearly smiled as well, raising her arm. "Odin's pretty lightweight for his size, though..." The dove fluttered down from seemingly nowhere to land on her wrist. "Even when he's like that; this other bird was _massive_."

"It was friendly, right?" Hope tried to envision a creature larger than Odin's more powerful form. "I can imagine something like that would be very strong..."

"She did say it could be taken for walks, and yeah, I was able to pet it just fine." Lightning moved her arm to allow Odin to perch on her shoulder. "But it was certainly unusual."

"Hey, Light!"

Lightning looked up to see a lone figure running up to them from the village. "Serah..." She glanced down at her sister's feet, or more specifically, the tiny robot that kept close to her heels.

Serah ran up to them with a grin. "Light, this is Bhakti!" She knelt down beside the machine, pointing at the solar panels on his side. "The one I talked about last night, remember?"

Bhakti chirped, swiveling to face her. "Hello."

Lightning slowly nodded. "Hello..."

"Would I be correct in assuming that you are one of the primary directors of this establishment?" Bhakti tilted himself backwards to examine her facial features. "If not, could you please direct me towards an individual of that description?"

Lightning knelt down as well. "My name is Lightning, and I'm one of the people who founded this village." She squinted to examine the little robot. "Could you tell me what sort of machine you are?"

Bhakti began to hum. "I am a high-performance mechanical recording device, designed to both collect and sort various types of advanced information, as well as to advise my keeper with the best of my abilities..." He paused for a moment, and his internal lights began to flicker. "Speaking of which, I simply _must_ find out if she is still in need of my assistance... But I fear that it has been _eons_ since I last awoke within the Vestige."

Lightning kept silent for a while, before she began to speak in a low voice. "If it was before Cocoon fell, I'd say that your chances are slim." She paused to look over at Serah. "Did you see anything else in there, something that might have said his keeper went?"

Serah shook her head. "Well, it wasn't a very thorough search... But I didn't see much of anything in the immediate area."

Lightning turned back to Bhakti. "Well, I can offer you a place to stay for now, but I'm not sure if you'd rather try to search for her..." She paused, blinking at the little machine. "What was her name?"

"Miss Hecate." Bhakti began to hum once more, swiveling around to face the pathway that led down towards the edge of the valley. "Her name was Hecate, and she was a most _brilliant_ patron of the sciences, particularly in the study of how prophecies interact with the theory of chaos."

Slowly, Lightning rose to her feet. "I haven't ever met anyone with that name, but I'll ask around next time I fly to Earth... Maybe she ended up down there, somehow."

Bhakti paused to process the idea for a moment. "Perhaps... I _have_ heard tales of scholars fleeing to Cocoon in order to bypass the magical boundaries enforced by the Sanctum."

Lightning grit her teeth. "It's more likely than not."

Hope spoke up from beside her. "I'm going to head back for now, but thank you for today's lesson."

Lightning nodded at him. "Bright and early tomorrow, no excuses."

Hope nodded as well, before he wandered off into the village.

"It's good you've been teaching him..." Serah smiled up at her sister. "For a while, I wasn't sure if he could manage it, but I think this is good for both of you."

Lightning turned to look at the village. "He's a decent kid." She looked back at Serah. "He had an idea today, actually... We might want to consider setting up some sort of school for general teaching, or maybe even magic, and the like."

Serah stood up with a growing smile. "That would be _great_, wouldn't it?" She turned to face a nearby building, before she pointed at it with a nod. "That's just an old storage shack, right? With a little work, it could make a good meeting house..."

Lightning began to walk forward. "I suppose it could."

Bhakti started up his treading to roll beside her heels. "Miss Lightning? I could actually offer my assistance in this matter... Especially if I were to receive access to the records kept back within the Vestige."

"It's just Lightning, or Light." Lightning walked over to poke at the side of the building with her shoe. "This is still pretty sturdy."

Serah grinned. "I'll ask Snow if he can help us paint the outside; we did see some flowers the other day that could make for some nice pigment, and if we can fix up these windows..." She continued on as she pushed open the door, gesturing for Lightning to follow.

With a quick glance at the village center, Lightning moved to keep up with her sister, and with the little robot at her side, the trio entered the shed amidst a gentle, yet musty breeze.

* * *

><p>Tapping at the side of the steering-wheel, Fang gazed out at the crosswalk ahead, but when she attempted to tally the number of teenagers with ridiculous hairstyles, she quickly began to lose count, and she was even further distracted by the sound of the passengers-side door swinging open, before it was shut once more with an accompanying sigh.<p>

Fang cleared her throat. "Rough day?"

Vanille rubbed her wrists over her eyes. "Just _tiring_... Man, I can't wait for summer."

Fang chuckled a bit. "Hey, just wait 'til you're done with school... Then the _real_ exhaustion starts."

With another sigh, Vanille reached up for her seat-belt. "I could barely sleep last night..." She soon leaned back into her seat, closing her eyes as the rumbling ignition roused the car to life. "Could we stop somewhere on the way back? I skipped most of lunch-period to get my homework done for the weekend."

Fang began to frown as she drove out from the parking space, maneuvering past the crosswalk. "I don't like the sound of that."

Vanille merely shrugged. "We'll have time to do stuff now, at least." She moved to reach into her shoulder-bag, rummaging about through a jumble of papers and notebooks. "Although, I _did_ have another dream last night; I was watching someone use magic, up there!"

Fang narrowed her eyes at the road. "I think you might be starting to influence my dreams, actually..." As she pulled up to a stoplight, Fang turned to look at the drawings upon Vanille's lap. "It was like I was... Falling, through the clouds, but for some reason I wasn't even scared."

With a nod, Vanille traced over the sketch of a sparkling burst of magic.

"And then, for some reason..." Fang shook her head. "It was as if the _world_ had turned upside-down, and there was ground _above_ me, and I was actually headed up to it."

As they began to drive on, Vanille glanced to the side, gazing out at the passing buildings and streets, until it had become a blur of color and motion. "I wonder if something like that is even possible."

Fang shrugged. "Hey, where do you want to stop?"

Vanille turned to face the front. "We could have an early dinner, if you want." She smiled at the road ahead. "But I think we should at least go somewhere outside; it's a beautiful day..."

With a tiny smile, Fang nodded. "We can check by the park; I saw some food trucks sitting over there today."

Vanille grinned at her. "See any _bad_-guys, Sergeant Fang?"

Fang rolled her eyes. "Very funny... I'm a ranger, not a cop." She shook her head after a moment. "But nobody's going to mess with the place on my watch... Plus the kind of trouble-makers _you're_ thinking of don't hang around in a public nature preserve."

"Not good for the image, huh?" Vanille giggled. "Yeah, let's just hang around and look moody in this colorful flower garden..."

Fang's expression suddenly sobered. "I've been seeing a lot more people your age with... Unusual get-ups."

"Yeah, I see them at school." Vanille shrugged. "Probably just a trend."

Fang glanced over at the pictures upon Vanille's lap. "Probably." She looked back at the road. "Just _don't_ let anyone pressure you into anything you don't want to do, okay?" Fang nearly grit her teeth. "Trust me, it isn't worth it."

Vanille almost began to assure her sister out loud, but when she caught the genuine look of concern in Fang's gaze, she simply nodded, adjusting the satchel at her side. "Hey, maybe we can do something fun over the weekend."

Fang nodded as she turned onto an adjacent road. "That'd be nice."

* * *

><p>With an armful of assorted mechanical components, Serah knelt upon the straw roof with Bhakti by her feet, before she set down the pile in between them. "Take a look at these; maybe you can find something useful out of them."<p>

Bhakti wheeled over to rummage through the pile of machinery. "Very interesting... It would seem that technology has evolved considerably since the last time I was actively studying it." He reached to pick up an odd gizmo with one of his hand-like grabbers. "I wonder what _this_ could be..."

From beside Serah, Lightning glanced over at the device, but her gaze caught instead on the afternoon sun, and with a slight twitch of her shoulders, she sat upright. "Would you mind if I left again, today?"

Serah looked up from the roof. "You'd be back at the same time, right?"

"I could try to be back sooner." Lightning blinked up at the soft, drifting clouds. "The rain really held me down, yesterday."

Serah giggled to herself. "I feel bad for your _feathers_... Must've been soaking when you got back home."

Lightning shrugged. "It's better when they phase out, the rain just falls off."

Serah nodded. "Just be _careful_, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you down there..." She took a moment to close her eyes, simply listening to the wind. "Maybe one of these days I'll go with you."

"It's... Very-" Lightning narrowed her eyes to find the right words. "Chaotic, but not in a bad way; there's vehicles _everywhere_, and everyone seems to be moving from one place to another at all times."

Serah opened her eyes. "Just... Not today, I want to make sure that Bhakti gets what he needs to feel comfortable."

Bhakti chirped at her. "My comfort level is already fully satisfied with all of this sunlight..." He swiveled the solar panels on his outer plating. "But I _do_ appreciate the sentiment; if I am to continue my existence as an assistant, I would naturally need someone to assist."

Serah patted along his outer plating. "You're a nice little robot."

Bhakti's lights flickered, before they brightened. "I am certainly glad that you think so."

Lightning turned, hiding a smirk as she rose to her feet. "I'll try to be back before midnight."

Serah leaned back to watch as a set of large, white wings phased out from within Lightning's jacket, expanding out over her shoulders only to snap aside in the wind. As she examined them further, it almost seemed as if Lightning's arms were but an afterthought; long, powerful muscles began to crawl down from her shoulders to grow out along her upper chest, and her sternum slowly expanded, allowing the base of her wings to connect with each wide, tapered muscle.

"Keep out of trouble while I'm away..." Lightning smiled down at her sister, before a quick jump and snap of her wings caught against the wind, sending her airborne.

Serah giggled, waving at the sky. "No promises!"

As Lightning flew off beneath the glowing sun, Serah caught the vague sound of a chiding, yet good-natured shout, but she couldn't quite hear what her sister had said, so Serah sat back down, staring out at the horizon.

"I would be very interested in seeing this place she speaks of..." Bhakti reached out to poke at one of the jumbled pieces of metal. "I have heard intriguing things about Earth, but I have never left Cocoon since my time studying there."

Serah watched the distant, flying form until it had disappeared off into the distance, before she let her eyes fall shut. "Maybe we can both go."

Bhakti hummed quietly to himself, examining a circular bit of metal, but he paused after a moment to face Serah. "Would you please tell me what happened to Cocoon while I was inactive?"

Serah bit at her bottom lip. "Well, it's a long story..."

* * *

><p>Fang crumpled up a bit of packaging between her hands, before she moved to walk beside a trash-bin. "I can't even tell you how many times these people miss..."<p>

Vanille giggled from beside her. "At least it gives you something to clean!" She glanced around at the surrounding park, inhaling the scent of wind, grass, and flowers. "This place is beautiful."

Fang paused for a moment, before she turned, staring out at the park itself. While she had walked along each path and side-street more times than she could count, there was still something about the vast stretch of wildlife resting deep within the heart of the city that gave her pleasant chills.

Vanille smiled against the wind. "We could come back over the weekend, maybe." She strolled out along the cobblestone path, gazing up at a flock of birds. "It's so _warm_ already, we probably wouldn't even need to bring jackets."

Fang tossed away the empty container, before she moved to walk beside Vanille. "Well, let's see what you feel like tomorrow." She began to walk down the pathway, before a certain sound caught her attention; the call was quite alike the cry of a peacock, yet there was more of a warble to it, which brought a smile to her lips. "Hey, it sounds like we might see a familiar face..."

Vanille shook her head with a grin. "Those silly birds! I wonder how she's even keeping them in that little apartment."

Fang shrugged. "Might as well go say hello." She moved to glance at the setting sun, before she made her way down the winding path, approaching a large row of hedges. "I'm just surprised she that hasn't gotten in trouble with the city-" Fang's voice caught, and she slowly narrowed her eyes.

Vanille froze in place as she caught sight of the nearby creature. "That's..."

With a quiet sigh, Fang looked back at Vanille. "You didn't _tell_ me she was real."

Vanille nearly shivered. "She's... Not?"

Fang frowned at her sister, before she looked back up at the woman who was leading a _ridiculously_ large bird into the park, tethered by a rope harness tied around both its neck and beak. "What do you mean, she's not? She's standing right over there!"

Vanille's breath grew short, and she began to shake her head back and forth. "I've never seen her before in my _life_... Fang, I wouldn't lie about this!

Fang rolled her eyes. "Then go and say hello."

Vanille looked away, until a gentle nudge from Fang sent her forward. "Fang..."

Fang grinned at her. "C'mon, you've gotta know her from _somewhere_... Maybe she's an old friend you forgot about." She looked up at the woman in question, staring along her unusual shade of hair. "Although if you drew her as an _angel_, I've gotta wonder just what kind of relationship you guys had..."

Vanille flushed, still shaking her head. "_Fang_, I swear I haven't-"

Fang merely winked at her, pushing Vanille along. "Go say hi." She stepped back with a nod. "If she doesn't recognize you, I'll believe it."

Vanille huffed, before she turned in place, making her way down the path.

A loud squawk rang out over the area, and with a sigh, Lightning reached up to pat along the bird's neck. "You're being _awfully_ loud."

As Chocolina had called him, 'Beaky' decided at that _very_ moment to yank in a seemingly random direction, chortling off at something in the distance.

"Damn bird..." Lightning tightened her grip of the rope tether, and the muscles in her arm flexed, keeping the bird firmly at her side. "I'm starting to regret-"

"Uh... Hello."

Lightning glanced to the side, taking sight of the young woman who had been quickly nuzzled by the giant bird, and yet she merely giggled, patting at his fluffy head.

"He's a _good_ birdy..." Vanille whispered up at the giant creature, stroking along his feathers. "Do you work at the shop he's from?"

Lightning cleared her throat. "Well, you could say that... I'm going to be getting some language lessons from the owner in return for this."

Vanille nodded to herself. "That would be my aunt.. She has a good eye for people." She laughed when the bird began to preen her hair. "And animals, too!"

Lightning slowly began to smile, glancing at Vanille's aura. "You'd be a Seraph too, then."

Vanille looked back at her. "A what?"

Lightning stilled, before her eyes went slightly wide. "Wait... But, _your_-" She caught herself in time, breathing slightly faster than before. "That's uh, the language... It's a dead one."

Vanille turned to face Lightning, staring at her expression. "I'd be a dead language?"

Lightning suddenly covered her eyes with her free hand. "_Shit_."

Slowly, a grin grew over Vanille's face, and she moved to stand on her tiptoes, leaning forward to further examine the woman before her. "I _knew_ you were something special!"

Lightning peered out at Vanille from between her fingers. "It's not-"

"Shush!" Vanille reached into her shoulder-bag, before she tugged out a handful of papers, pushing them over to Lightning. "Just _look_ at these... Tell me I'm crazy."

With a soft sigh, Lightning moved her hand down to take one of the pictures. "This is..." Her eyes widened. "But, you said-"

"I said what?" Vanille's voice rose in pitch as she tried to hand over more of the drawings. "Please, just _tell_ me what these mean! I've been having _dreams_ about them and everything, but I've never seen them before in my life, honest!"

"Vanille?"

Lightning turned to look at the taller woman that had since walked up to them, and her chest tightened at the sudden, _overwhelming_ aura that rolled out into her own presence, nearly choking her with intensity.

"Vanille, what's wrong?" Fang looked between them, noticing the grimace on Lightning's features. "Hey, what's-"

Lightning cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, but this would sound insane to you if I tried to explain it."

Fang leaned aside with a single, elegant eyebrow quirked. "Well, I've dealt with plenty of 'insane'..."

Lightning slowly allowed herself to relax, despite the constant waves of pressure that almost seemed to rumble off of Fang's presence. "These... They came to you in dreams?"

Vanille nodded at her, clutching along the drawings with pale, shaking fingertips.

Lightning took a deep breath. "Well, your aunt... Has she ever mentioned exactly where she came from?"

Both Fang and Vanille shared a glance, before they looked back at the stranger, confusion present within both of their gazes.

* * *

><p>The stars began to appear slowly against the rich, evening sky, but they soon became hidden by the glittering city below; cars and buses still rumbled off into the early night, while the sounds of pedestrian footfalls cast a gentle rhythm above the sidewalk itself.<p>

"...And you're telling me that this is reality?" Fang stared at the head of pink hair before her, but her new-found companion refused to even look back as they traveled on throughout the city-streets. "That you came from some 'magic' city that floats in the sky?" She exhaled, shaking her head with a quiet grumble. "I'm starting to think everyone's taken the punch but me..."

Lightning narrowed her eyes at the street ahead. "I won't ask you to believe me, but if you actually have human parentage-"

Fang let out a laugh. "_Human_ parentage? What the _hell_ else would we-?"

"Fang!" Vanille tugged at her sleeve. "C'mon... Be polite."

Fang rolled her eyes. "I don't really think I need to be polite to a _madwoman_."

Vanille glared up at her. "Well, how do you explain this with all of my dreams? You can _ask_ her, we've never even met before!"

Fang covered her face with a sigh. "Yeah, just ask the crazy-" She inhaled, before she lowered her hand to look back at Vanille. "I'm sorry, Van... This is just hard to take in."

Vanille looked down at her feet. "But you _do_ believe us? I don't want to be crazy..."

Fang wrapped her arm around Vanille's shoulders. "You're not crazy, and even if you were, it wouldn't matter to me..." She ruffled at Vanille's hair with her free hand. "Hey, I'm not about to let something silly like that get between us, you hear?"

Vanille slowly began to smile. "Thank you."

Lightning glanced back at them from over her shoulder. "You two are good sisters." Her voice was a near whisper, yet it was still audible above the din of the crowd. "Trust me, I know firsthand."

Fang let Vanille lean against her, still holding tight to the side of her arm. "So... If what you're saying is true... That there _is_ some other world out there, then what did you say it made us? Nephil-something?"

"Nephilim." Lightning looked back at the sidewalk. "You can ask your aunt... She's just like me, a Seraph, or Seraphim."

Vanille moved to clutch at the handle of her shoulder-bag. "So Seraphim are like... Angels, right?"

Lightning looked back with a raised brow. "Angels..? I've heard that word once or twice."

"It's a heavenly spirit." Fang waved her index finger at the sky. "A messenger of the gods, if you believe in all that."

Lightning shook her head. "I'm not a spirit... The closest thing I can think of to that description would be a familiar."

"So what _are_ Seraphim?" Fang quickened her pace to keep up with Lightning, who was still leading the giant bird beside her. "Vanille drew all of these pictures, and some of these people look like normal humans, but then..."

Lightning nearly smiled. "Some of them have wings?"

Fang nodded. "What about _you?_" She reached out to tap at Lightning's shoulder. "What makes you not-human?"

Lightning gently tugged the tethered creature to stand beside her as she stopped beside a lamppost. "Just let me get him back home... If you really want me to, I'll prove it to you, but we aren't exactly in the most secluded place." She nodded at the crowd, indicating the sort of lingering stares that a giant bird received within a busy sidewalk. "I might actually need to do something soon that would be better with a few Nephilim around... So I'm willing to try and help you if you'll trust me in return."

Fang tipped her head to the side. "Help us with what, exactly?" She nearly shivered when a set of cool, blue eyes locked upon her own gaze, but she kept it stifled with a quick draw of breath. "Even _if_ you're something supernatural-"

"You have a very unusual... Aura." Lightning took a step forward. "Humans don't usually even have one, but if you're _really_ descended from-" She paused, wincing at the oncoming sensation. "I've never felt one like that, and you never know, it might turn out to be dangerous."

Fang kept her mouth as a thin line, before she moved to look away, gazing off into the bustling street. "We live at the corner of Third Street and Abbey." She glanced back at Lightning. "Meet us on the roof without climbing anything, and I might just start to believe it..."

Vanille waved at Lightning as she was guided away. "It was very nice to meet you!"

Lightning simply nodded, before she reached up to gently pat at the animal beside her.

Fang stared down at the sidewalk. "This is real... Strange."

Vanille looked up at her with a smile. "It's _exciting!_" She nudged at Fang's shoulder with her own. "Don't lie, this is super cool!"

Fang rolled her eyes, but she couldn't quite help the smile that crept over her lips. "She is pretty cute, I'll give her that."

Vanille let out a scoff. "Oh yeah, the city in the sky? Boring... The woman we met from my dreams, yeah, she's just _'cute'_."

Fang grinned. "Hey, I won't blame you for dreaming about her!"

With a sigh, Vanille grumbled against Fang's shoulder. "You're _hopeless_..."

Fang could only smile in return.

* * *

><p>AN: We brought my big-ass cockatiel back over to the house yesterday; he had been staying at my mom's place for a while, so imagine his surprise when he finally got to meet our tiny little parakeet that I had bought just a few months back... Queue said parakeet pining away for his affection, while he offers her only the very _coldest_ of shoulders in return for her masterful acrobatic displays... And they say that animals have no appreciation for true love.


	5. Flock

A soft ray of sunlight filtered in from the shutters beside the windowsill, and while the breeze blew steadily inside from the window itself, a mesh-like covering kept most of the airflow from touching a small, crackling fire that sat within a metallic contraption.

"If I can _just_ get this warm enough..." Serah began to frown at the tiny flame, which barely clung on to the assorted bits of stacked, mossy wood. "We've been trying to ration fuel, you see."

Bhakti sat a good distance away from the stove, but he swiveled a little to examine the hearth, humming quietly to himself. "Perhaps we might find additional power clusters somewhere within the Vestige..." He paused to turn in place, facing the open doorway. "However, judging by the sample we last recovered, their potency has most likely been quite severely diminished."

With a slow nod, Serah drew in a long breath, before she released it upon the fire, stoking the flame into a brighter, growing blaze. "Well, I'm just glad that this area still has trees..."

A third voice suddenly spoke up; his tone was much more youthful than Serah herself. "Oh, I went climbing on one yesterday! There was some really weird fruit up in there, and it looked super prickly." A young boy sat at the kitchen table, doodling away upon a thin piece of paper. "Maybe you guys can check if it's safe?"

Serah glanced at him with a smile. "I'll ask Snow to take a look when he has the chance... He said that he figured out which berries not to eat out there when his group was hiding." She moved to reach for the handle of a shallow, rectangular device. "Dajh, would you like to help me out with dinner?"

Dajh grinned at her. "Yeah! I used to help dad make it all the time." He hopped down to walk up to the counter. "What're we making?"

Serah set down an opaque container upon the counter-top. "Well, I did manage to find a few ripe things in the garden today..." She pointed at a basket by the corner, which displayed quite a few different vegetables within. "And we have still some leftovers from the hunt last weekend."

Dajh's eyes went wide. "What'd they catch this time? I didn't see it when they came back..."

"I think it was one of those big turtle-things." Serah opened the case to reveal several slices of thin, marbled meat. "I would've gone out with them too, but that was the day your roof was leaking, remember?"

Dajh nodded. "I'm glad the rain stopped..."

Serah laughed a little, before she reached up for a hanging skillet. "Me too! It was starting to get a little gloomy around here..." She set the pan down upon the counter. "I'm glad you came to visit today... You aren't getting lonely over there, are you?"

Dajh shook his head. "I like my house!" He watched as Serah began to slice the meat into smaller pieces. "And everyone here is so nice."

Serah nodded as she worked. "Maybe when Lightning shows us the way down to Earth... You'd want to see your dad again, right?"

Dajh stood up on his tiptoes with a beaming grin. "Yeah! He's been gone a _real_ long time, so it would be great! We could do stuff together again, and I can tell him everything that happened!"

Serah smiled at Dajh's tone. "I know he'll be real happy to see you again... How long has it been?"

Dajh paused for a moment. "I don't remember." He blinked, thinking back. "And we all went to sleep that one time..."

Serah nodded. "It _was_ a long time..." She pointed at the basket of vegetables. "Will you grab those for me?"

Dajh reached up for the basket. "Hey, where did Light go? Did they go hunting again?"

Serah shook her head, and she began to examine the various, colorful plants, turning a few of them over in her hands. "No, Light just has some errands... She might even be visiting your dad again."

Dajh grinned. "I'll ask her next time if we can go, too!"

Serah began to slice along the edge of a purple tuber, peeling away the skin. "I spoke with her just a little earlier today; as long as it isn't raining again, we should be fine to all fly together."

Dajh pointed at the basket. "Can I help, too?"

Serah nodded, before she handed over a couple of tomatoes to him. "Wash these for a moment, and then we can start cutting them."

Dajh walked over to turn on the sink, and Serah's gaze caught along the water itself, illuminated slightly by the evening sun.

"I'll ask Snow if he wants to eat with us tonight..." Serah smiled, closing her eyes as the wind gently tousled her hair. "Dinner's always better with company."

* * *

><p>Fang sat herself down with a silent sigh, leaning back against the wall of the stairwell that led back down to their apartment building. "Still can't believe you talked me into this..."<p>

Vanille turned to stare at the sky. "Well you _can't_ just tell her to meet us here and then not even show up to see it through!" She moved to sit down on the bench beside Fang, tugging her jacket closer to herself. "In my dreams, it looked so _easy_... Just one flap, and you're up there."

Fang reached down into her pocket for her phone. "Mh-hm."

Vanille rolled her eyes. "You're gonna miss it! And then you'll feel real sorry..." She sighed, looking back to face the horizon. "She'll get here, right? It would be silly to say stuff like that and not mean it."

Fang kept silent, staring into the gentle glow by her hand.

Vanille began to swing her feet back and forth. "_I_ think she was telling the truth." She let her eyes fall shut for a moment, before she opened them, standing up. "I know you don't really trust too many people, Fang..."

"No, it's not that." Fang switched her phone off with a shake of her head. "Listen... When you hear something that doesn't make sense, you try to explain it to yourself, right?"

Vanille slowly began to nod.

"But when things _don't_ make sense..." Fang chuckled a little. "It's just a bit difficult to accept, sometimes."

A low voice interrupted Vanille's response. "I know the feeling."

Vanille suddenly covered her mouth with a gasp, swirling in place to face the building behind her, or more specifically, the woman perched atop the roof shelter of the stairwell.

"Damn..." Fang narrowed her eyes at the sight, but a smirk started to tug at her lips. "Weren't kidding, were you?"

Lightning sat with her legs dangling over the side of the roof, while she kept her wings folded beside her shoulders, covering both part of her upper chest and neck. "I wouldn't joke about this."

Fang slowly leaned to the side, inspecting the scene before her. "Hey, what kind of wingspan is that? At least ten, maybe fifteen feet?"

Lightning rose to extend her wings out, stretching them wide across the rooftop. "I'd say closer to fifteen."

Vanille finally found the will to speak, before she began to quietly step forward. "I _knew_ it..."

With a nod, Lightning moved to drop down from the roof, landing almost silently beside them. "I'm... Not entirely sure what to say."

Vanille glanced away. "I'm not, either..."

Fang stepped forward with a grin. "Lemme see?"

Lightning stilled, drawing her wings a bit closer to herself. "See... What?"

Fang poked at her own shoulder. "Those feathers, they look neat."

Lightning fought back the flush of color in her cheeks as Fang reached out, running her fingers over the upper edge of her wing, lingering along one of her primary feathers.

"Man, I bet you could get some good speed with these..." Fang brushed her fingertips over the softer side of the feather's vane, before she let her hand drop to her side. "We went indoor-skydiving just a couple years back; I'd imagine the two being a bit similar."

Lightning moved her wings aside, and Fang caught a glimpse of how the lower, secondary feathers swept down to extend along her lower back, only meeting up again with the opposite wing at the area below her waist.

"Skydiving?" Lightning's wings began to fade with a quiet rustle, before they disappeared completely, allowing her upper chest to reform as well. "I'm not entirely familiar with most things down here."

Vanille spoke, grinning all the while. "It's when you jump from an airplane with a parachute on... I wasn't old enough for the real thing, and I was only brave enough for one try."

Fang smirked. "You didn't even freak out, though! Made it all the way to the end without so much as a peep."

"Well, you and the instructor were both there..." Vanille looked back at Lightning. "But that's... I mean, _wow_."

Lightning drew in a long breath, before she began to speak in a soft, quiet tone. "What I said about Cocoon is true, and it's where I was born... But it's nearly gone, now." She slowly looked skyward, feeling the wind brush against her shoulders and back. "We live on a tiny _shard_ of it... Just big enough to keep us away from the Sanctum."

Vanille frowned. "What's the Sanctum?"

Lightning grit her teeth. "They were... Supposed to keep everything in check, keep everyone safe." She closed her eyes for a moment, before she began to shake her head. "I nearly lost my sister to them, among all the rest..."

Vanille's eyes lit up. "She's in my drawings too, right? She looks _just_ like you!"

Lightning opened her eyes to slowly nod. "I've actually heard of dreams being used by seers for prophetic readings." She shrugged after a moment. "They weren't in practice very much when I was a kid, but we did hear about them in history lessons."

"What sort of 'readings'?" Fang glanced over at Vanille. "You're saying she might be some sort of prophet?"

Lightning shook her head. "I don't know for sure... But what I _do_ know is that they could be useful for keeping yourself safe." She nodded at Vanille. "Keep on drawing them, and make notes; it could come in handy."

Vanille nodded back. "I definitely will... I'll write down exactly what happens, too."

"Alright." Fang glanced up as a strong, blustery chill swept over the roof. "Getting a little breezy..." She turned to face Lightning. "Mind if we take this inside?"

Lightning shook her head. "I told my sister I'd try to be back before dark... It should be almost sundown by there at this point."

Fang looked her over, scanning the way that Lightning's clothes bore several marks of both age and usage; her jeans were almost completely worn off at the knee, and her sneakers carries several scuffs and holes around both the toe and side areas.

"Hey..." Fang nodded at the stairwell. "She can wait a while for us to get you something warmer to wear, right?"

Lightning glanced at her feet. "I don't carry any money on me... It's always fallen out once I get airborne."

Fang only smirked. "Don't worry, it'll be on us."

* * *

><p>With a shot-glass held between his fingers, Sazh leaned back beside the crackling flames, before he pinched along the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "You're telling me it just up and <em>disappeared?<em>" Shaking his head, Sazh quickly downed the bitter liquid. "How the _heck_ do you lose a watch like that?"

Amodar waved his arms to the side. "Yeah, yeah... I _know_." He reached for his own drink after a moment, moving the glass around in his fingertips. "That's why I'm suspecting a thief... This sort of thing doesn't go missing on its own."

Sazh frowned. "Then _why_ aren't you out searching for it?!"

Amodar rolled his eyes. "Think about it for a moment... It's no ordinary watch." He moved to sip at his drink with a sigh. "If the bugger sees me coming to get it back, I'm toast." Amodar nearly chuckled. "Unless he's only human, of course... Can't do much when a _fallen's_ on your ass, now can you?"

After a moment of silence, Sazh set his feet up beside the nearby fireplace, just out of reach of the flames. "You're assuming it's a_ 'he'_... Plenty of ladies turn to pick-pocketing."

Amodar shrugged. "Suppose that could be true... Well, whoever it was, we'll be lucky if they just nicked it for the sake of pawning it off; if they _do_ know what it does..."

Sazh bit back a grimace. "I'll ask around tomorrow, see what I can find." He leaned back in his chair, staring up into the dancing shadows cast by the hearth. "Hell, if I see Lightning tomorrow, I might even try to get her on the case as well."

Amodar began to grin. "Real firebrand, wasn't she? Nearly thought we'd have a brawl on our hands..."

"She's... An interesting one." Sazh set his glass down on the table. "I first got in contact with her _long_ after the fall; I had to make sure my son was safe, you know."

Amodar nodded.

"So I go to Chocolina, ask her all 'nicely' and everything if she'd please send out a distress beacon for me..." Sazh smiled to himself. "Several years after the fact, guess who picks up?"

"Sparky herself?" Amodar chuckled. "So what, she finds your kid and takes him in?"

Sazh nodded with a soft sigh. "They've got him a place all for himself... But something was a little off."

"Off?" Amodar took another sip of his drink. "Don't tell me kiddo got _hurt..._"

Sazh shook his head. "No, no... Nothing like that." He closed his eyes, before he slowly let them slide open, staring into the flame. "He's just a little younger than he's supposed to be; even before the stasis, if he wasn't aging right... All those _years _with no dad, no mom..."

Amodar bit back a sigh. "Wouldn't he have been taken in at some point? Who was looking after him before all of that?"

Sazh grit his teeth. "The Sanctum."

* * *

><p>With a quiet intake of breath, Lightning slipped the dark jacket to rest over her shoulders, before she turned, taking sight of herself within the mirror by her side; the inner, silky material fit snugly around her chest and arms, but she still found herself able to move around with ease, and the leather itself made very little noise with each turn she took.<p>

"Doing okay in there?" Vanille's voice was slightly muffled by the closed doorway, but Lightning could still make out the gentle concern to her tone. "If you need a different size-"

"It's fine." Lightning stared down at herself for one more moment, before she turned to face the door. "I just have to try on the rest of these."

Vanille giggled quietly. "I can't believe Fang got you to try the leather on..." She moved to lean against the wall beside the changing-room door. "I'll bet it looks great on you, though."

Lightning winced a little as she attempted to draw out her wings, but without a prior enchantment, the clothing kept her from managing it. "I'm not too familiar with the fashion down here... I wasn't in Cocoon, either; that was more of my sister's thing."

"What's her name?" Vanille began to move a silken scarf between her hands, tapping her feet against the opposite wall. "You said yours was Lightning... It _is_ unusual, but it sounds pretty cool."

"Serah." Lightning tugged on a pair of jeans. "_Yes_, like the other name."

Vanille stifled a laugh. "Serah, the..?"

Lightning slowly bit down on her bottom lip, barely containing her own laughter. "Don't..."

Vanille shook her head back and forth. "No, it's a _very_ pretty name."

"What's a pretty name?" Fang's voice echoed about the hall, along with her footsteps. "Van, you look all _giggly_..."

Vanille held her breath for a long moment, before she let out a sigh. "It's nothing, Fang."

"Alright." Fang pushed up a small pile of clothes to hang from the top of the door. "Try these on if you need 'em."

Lightning glanced up at the clothing. "You aren't handing me anything embarrassing, right?"

Fang knocked at the edge of the door with her knuckles. "Hey, you wanted us to trust you, so give a little back."

Lightning nodded to herself. "Sorry, I will."

After a moment, Vanille spoke up. "Are you- You sound pretty serious most of the time; is that just..?"

"...Not just for your benefit." Lightning moved to slip on a tee-shirt, before she reached up to trace her fingers over the hem of the collar. "I'm somewhat of a leader, back home... Talk to people like that, and they won't worry as much."

Both Vanille and Fang fell silent for a while, so Lightning started to pick up the clothing upon the door, before she turned, staring off into the mirror. "If it bothers you, I'll-"

"No, no..." Vanille shifted against the door-frame, fidgeting slightly. "I was just wondering. I don't mind."

"We _all_ have stuff like that." Fang's voice was low, yet gentle. "So don't worry about it, Lightning."

Lightning almost smiled. "Call me Light." She tugged on a pale shirt, and her gaze caught on the swirling, abstract design along the front, which nearly reminded her of a warm, cloudy day.

"Light." Fang tapped at the door again. "It's a good name for you."

* * *

><p>Setting down a stack of dishes within the warm, soapy water, Serah glanced up over her shoulder, before she began to smile at the sight she received. "Nice of you to help."<p>

Snow smiled back. "Hmm." He reached over her shoulders to pick up a canister of liquid soap. "Figured it was only fair..."

"Why's that?" Serah moved to the side, allowing him some more space by the sink. "I don't mind taking care of dinner."

Snow shrugged. "I know, but I just like to pitch in." He reached over for the pan that sat upon the counter-top. "When I was young, we had a... Well, you could _call_ it a gang, but we weren't really troublemakers; we were just young, _hotblooded_... All pissed off at the Sanctum before anyone else even was."

Serah sent him a sidelong glance. "Why were you so pissed off?"

Snow shook his head. "When your parents don't... When they don't come back from the war-"

Serah's expression fell.

"You either... You act like you're still waiting for them, or someone eventually figures out the ruse, and then you get sent to an orphanage." Snow inhaled a sharp, yet quiet breath. "I guess I wasn't a very good actor."

Slowly, Serah reached over to touch his forearm. "You don't have to-"

"It's okay." Snow tried to smile at her. "It was years ago, you know? All in the past... It _screws_ you up, though." He reached up to caress her smaller hand with his, still soapy from the dishwater. "When we made a break for it, we started to... Age, again. When you're in there, everything starts to slow down... Like nothing can change, nothing ever _moves_."

Serah glanced over her shoulder to where Dajh had been sitting near moments ago. "Dajh is... Well, from what Lightning told me, he acts a little young for his age... Looks like it, too."

Snow nodded. "It's the damn _rooms_... You get stuck in there for a hundred years, being treated like an invalid... It _gets_ to you."

"Calm down." Serah reached over to hold his hand. "You're out of there now, it's okay."

With an exhale, Snow leaned forward, nodding. "Sorry, I'm... I'm okay." He took a deep breath, before the tension in his shoulders began to unwind. "I'm alright."

Serah smiled. "That's good." Quickly, almost before he even noticed, she placed a quick kiss upon the side of his face. "I'm going to see that Dajh made it home safely; I'll be right back."

As she stepped out through the front door, Snow slowly continued to scrub away the grease from the pan in his hands, but a wide, creeping blush moved out from his ears to his face, before he began to chuckle to himself.

* * *

><p>Glancing down at her new jacket, Lightning clutched at the bag in her hand, as well as the railing before her; she stood just beside a lowered patio, and both several tables and chairs lay below, tended to by people in clothing that she had never even <em>heard<em> of before, much less encountered.

"It may _look_ fancy, but don't sweat it." Fang patted at Lightning's back. "It's just a nice place to get lunch, maybe dinner." She waved over at Vanille, who had already walked up to find them a table.

"This is-" Lightning paused to breathe, taking in both the sounds and sights of the colorful crowd, constantly moving all around her within the wide, outdoor plaza. "It's just a little much."

"Hey, just breathe." Fang winked at her from the corner of her gaze. "You looked like you needed a little fun, so let us take care of it."

Lightning nodded slowly, concentrating on her hands to slow down her rate of breath. "This is... Very kind of you."

Fang nearly grinned. "Hey, it's not everyday you see something like _that_... I know we've never really met before today, but Vanille's been going on and _on_ about these dreams for quite some time; it's good to finally know that she wasn't just dreaming."

"Well, I don't mean to complain, but-" Lightning quieted as she met Fang's gaze, and her words stilled upon her tongue.

"But..?" Fang tilted her head slightly, causing her dark, wavy hair to brush down against her shoulders. "You alright, there?"

Lightning nodded. "Your-" She lowered her voice. "What I talked about before; yours is a little overwhelming."

Fang leaned aside to rest her elbow and forearm on the railing. "Hey, nobody's gonna listen in on us, and if they do, they won't care." She smiled a bit. "So, what's this 'aura' stuff?"

Lightning paused, running her fingertips together just beside the banister. "It's the energy within and around someone." She glanced down at herself. "You can't see much of your own, but it's there... You can see it more easily on someone else."

Fang made a thoughtful noise from the back of her throat. "So how can I see yours? Or is this another special kind of thing?"

Lightning shrugged. "I don't know much about Nephilim, or their abilities."

Fang narrowed her eyes at a lingering passerby. "Yeah, it's a _weird_ part of the game for sure..."

Lightning followed her gaze. "What?"

Fang waited until the bystander had moved on. "Nothing, just lending us some cover." She turned back to face Lightning. "So, how can I _see_ this-"

"Fang!" Vanille hopped up to wave over the crowd. "C'mon, we've got a table!"

Fang chuckled under her breath. "We can talk while we eat..." When Lightning didn't follow, she reached over to tap at her hand. "Light, this way."

Lightning looked up with a nod. "Uh, where are we..?"

"The tables." Fang tugged at her by the wrist. "Didn't you have restaurants back in Cocoon?"

Lightning looked to the side. "I don't know what that is."

Fang merely nodded. "I'll explain, just follow me."

As they walked out through the crowd, Lightning's gaze caught on several different sights; both the outer terrace itself and the dining area were accented with live flowers and elaborate fountains, and Lightning caught herself thinking of home as they passed beneath a long, vine-covered archway, but she quickly sent the thoughts back into the corner of her mind as she followed after Fang.

"Here we are..." Fang sat down beside Vanille, gesturing for Lightning to sit as well. "Well, just stick with something quick if you're in a hurry to get home."

Lightning looked down at a thin, embossed pamphlet as it was set down before her. "Okay."

With a smile, the waiter opened up a similar booklet from above. "May I start you ladies off with something to drink?"

Fang spoke up. "Water to start, but we'll need a moment to decide." She waited until they were relatively alone, before Fang reached over to tap beside Lightning's hand. "You just order from the menu, here."

Vanille looked between them with a tiny frown. "She doesn't..?"

Fang shrugged. "Guess not." She looked up to catch Lightning's gaze. "Where'd you guys get your meals from, up there? Just at home?"

Lightning slowly began to nod. "The government handled food distribution... Families were expected to prepare and cook for themselves."

Fang let out a low whistle. "No restaurants? No grocery stores?" At Lightning's silence, she leaned to the side. "Hey, don't look so glum."

Lightning only blinked.

Fang chuckled. "Well, now you've got the chance to try it out, right? Doesn't matter if you hadn't before."

Vanille smiled at Lightning. "If you want one of the specialty drinks, it's our treat." She pointed at the first page of the menu. "They keep the alcoholic stuff separate, so-"

Fang nudged at Vanille's shoulder. "She's old enough to drink."

Vanille rolled her eyes. "Just let me _explain_ it!" After a moment, she looked back at Lightning. "How old _are_ you, anyway?"

Fang grit her teeth. "_Vanille_."

Lightning cleared her throat. "Well, at the time of the fall, I was six-thousand, five-hundred and thirty-nine."

Vanille's eyes went wide. "What..?!"

Fang couldn't help but stare as well.

With a shrug, Lightning glanced down at the menu. "But I was in stasis for at least fifty years, and we've been in New Bodhum for around two..." She looked back at them both, gazing between each of their expressions. "What, how old are _you?_"

Fang slowly let out a laugh. "Twenty three..."

Vanille took even longer to reply. "Fourteen."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "You'd be infants at that age."

Fang cleared her throat. "I get the feeling we mature at different rates..."

Lightning slowly glanced over both of them. "You aren't kidding?"

Vanille forced herself to laugh. "Neither are you..?"

After a moment, Fang reached down for her own menu. "Well, I don't really think it makes a lick of difference at this point." She paused to smirk at Lightning. "I _do_ think that you're more than old enough for booze, but it might be a bit difficult to go back home if you get tipsy..."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "For sure." She slowly opened the booklet, glancing along the thankfully familiar language of writing, before she turned the page. "What's a quail?"

Vanille frowned a little. "Um, just skip that page..."

Fang leaned over to see. "Why?"

Vanille nearly flushed, rolling her eyes with a whisper. "_Because,_ she's a-"

Fang let out a laugh. "What, you don't think birds of prey snack on vegetables, do you?" She ruffled Vanille's hair. "Let Light pick out what she wants."

Lightning peered over the menu, simultaneously cursing the lack of photographic description. "Can you fill me in, here?"

Vanille reached over to point at the top of the page. "Poultry, it's stuff like chickens or ducks... Little birds."

Lightning nodded. "Like your aunt has in her shop."

Vanille nodded back. "Well, I assumed since..." She looked up at Lightning's shoulders. "I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable with eating something like that."

After a moment of silence, Lightning shrugged. "It's fine, and pets are different than the sort of animals you hunt." She nearly considered summoning Odin for a moment, but she quickly thought better of it. "I've hunted wild birds before, so don't worry."

Fang set her own menu down with a nod. "What sort of pets do they have up there?"

Lightning stared along the various lines of text as she spoke. "My sister has a moogle familiar, and mine is named Odin... He's usually a dove or an eagle, depending on the situation."

Vanille squinted at her. "What's a moogle?"

"They're usually small and fluffy, but Serah's is large for his species." Lightning gestured at a nearby tree. "Standing, he's about the height of that first branch, there."

Fang leaned over to look, before she whistled. "Pretty tall."

Lightning traced over something on the menu. "I've heard of galettes... Serah used to make them for breakfast, sometimes."

"Oh!" Vanille grinned as she flipped her own menu around to point at it. "If you like those, they have dessert crepes too."

Lightning smiled. "With fruit... I've had them before."

Fang nodded at them both. "Paycheck came in today, so don't worry about the price." She leaned back to stare at the dark, city sky, which had already been tinged with the many colors of the buildings above. "My treat, alright?"

Vanille set down her menu. "We haven't been here in a while, you know." She poked at her sister's shoulder. "Only for holidays and stuff..."

Fang shrugged. "I suppose it is a little special." She smiled as a glass of water was set down before her. "We've made a new friend, so why not celebrate?"

Lightning stilled as Fang spoke, and for a moment, she kept completely silent beneath the whispering breeze, before she thought back to the last time she had spoke of someone as a friend, but besides her extended family within the village itself, she could barely recall more than a passing face, or a distant, silent smile.

"That's a good point!" Vanille smiled up at the waiter. "I'd like one of the cherry crepes, please."

Fang nodded. "Pepper tenderloin, rare as you can make it..." She glanced over at Lightning. "What about you?"

Lightning quickly snapped back from her previous train of thought, but before she could even formulate a coherent sentence, a single phrase left her lips. "I'll have the same."

Fang slowly began to grin. "Hey, birds of a feather?"

Vanille glanced between them with a sly look. "I'm the odd one out! I thought we were going for dessert..."

Fang leaned back with a shrug. "Doesn't matter what we order, so long as it's casual." She took a sip of her water, gazing around at nothing in particular. "Hey, they've got cows where you're from, right?"

Lightning fought the urge to bite her bottom lip. "Describe a cow?"

Fang pinched at the bridge of her nose with a laugh. "Oh, man... First time with steak?" She smiled, shaking her head. "Don't worry, I'll bet you're gonna love it."


	6. Tick

"So... How did you say these 'aura' things work?" Fang had her forearms resting against the table, and she began to fold her fingers together. "If I do have some sort of magic-thing like that, I'd like to know exactly what it is."

Lightning glanced over at the outline bordering Fang's body, but when she squinted to see the dark, dancing shape, she found very it difficult to focus upon for long, and her vision began to blur after just a moment of examination. "It's... A kind of magic that rests inside of people." She slowly held her hand up above the table, partially concealing the dove that had started to materialize within her sleeve. "Familiars can track it by sight, and when they aren't summoned, they try to stay as close as possible to their partner's aura."

Vanille's eyes went wide, and she gasped as the dove disappeared back into thin air. "Hey, you could have one _heck_ of a magic show..."

Fang chuckled. "That was 'Odin', you said?"

Lightning nodded. "He's been with me since before I can remember." She set her hand back down beside the table. "There's been more than a couple of times where he's kept me from losing my life."

"Sounds like a real good friend." Fang glanced over at Lightning's shoulders, focusing on something that she couldn't quite see. "I'm trying to..." She sighed quietly. "_Trying_ to see if I can see it."

Slowly, Lightning moved her hand to rest beneath the table. "Try this."

Fang looked off to the side, before she reached down and under the tablecloth to touch at Lightning's fingertips. "What will it-?" Her breath caught as a shimmering, yet subtle outline bloomed out over Lightning's figure, slowly fluttering in place. "That's..."

Lightning looked down at herself. "It's really more of a physical thing, so it's easier to see with contact." She held her other hand out for Vanille. "You don't have to, if you don't-"

Vanille touched at Lightning's palm, squinting, before her eyes went wide once more. "Oh, _wow_..."

Fang stared along the soft, flickering outline for a long moment, unconsciously moving her fingertips against Lightning's own. "Will this... Let me see mine?"

Lightning shrugged.

With a quiet intake of breath, Fang looked down at herself to find a faint, nearly-indiscernible pattern traveling along her chest and arms. "That's pretty strange."

Vanille looked down as well, and she began to smile at the swirls of orange and white that swept around over her body. "Fang, look at this!"

Fang glanced down, smiling a little. "It suits you."

Vanille giggled at the slow, dancing pattern, before she began to move her hand away, but as she broke contact with Lightning's palm, the outline started to fade. "Oh, it's not..?"

Lightning shook her head. "If you can see it in the first place, you'll just need practice." She slowly moved her hand away from Fang's fingertips, setting it back beside her lap. "Just keep focusing on them in your free time."

Fang nodded. "Will do." She leaned back slowly, gazing at where the shimmer had been on her arms before. "So what's your plan, here? You said something earlier about needing Nephilim."

Lightning stayed silent for a moment to think over her words. "Several years ago, my sister was branded a l'Cie." She glanced between Vanille and Fang. "A l'Cie _looks_ like a normal Seraph, but if... If you don't complete your focus, you turn into a Cie'th."

"What's a focus?" Vanille kept her voice low. "Or... A Cie'th?"

"A focus-" Lightning took a deep breath. "Is the task that you're given by the Fal'Cie who branded you..." She scratched at the back of her wrist. "Sort of a proto-godlike being; I don't really know much about them, because they're supposedly quite rare... Before Serah was branded, I didn't even think they really existed."

Fang nodded, mulling over the information given. "So, what's a Cie'th?"

Lightning bit at the inside of her cheek. "It's... Not pretty." She moved to rest her hands against the table. "Imagine a twisted, shambling husk of a person... That's a Cie'th."

Vanille began to frown. "But Serah, _she_ didn't..?"

Lightning shook her head. "Her brand stopped, even though her focus wasn't-" She paused, struggling for the right words. "We never _really_ completed it, not in the way the Fal'Cie wanted."

"But she didn't become a Cie'th?" Vanille's voice wavered a bit. "In my dreams, she always looked so happy..."

"No, she made it out alright." Lightning moved to point at her own upper arm. "She has her brand right here, but it stopped progressing, and turned white."

"Well, what does all of this have to do with Nephilim?" Fang looked down at her hands. "I mean, if Cocoon is gone..."

"Bhunivelze." Lightning's voice went low. "He was the god overseeing Cocoon, and the Sanctum went to convene with him for advice about the situation, but..." She grit her teeth, looking to the side. "He said _nothing, _so we had no clue what Serah's focus was, except for she talked about from her visions..." Lighting paused, glancing back at her companions. "I'm getting off-topic here, but the point _is_, I need to make sure that this never happens to her again."

"And... How do you go about doing something like that?" Fang met Lightning's gaze, searching along her expression. "This god of yours didn't try to stop the place from falling apart?"

Lightning shook her head. "No, he _just_... Disappeared, somewhere." She looked up as a plate was suddenly set down before her, and a thick, wonderful scent entered her senses. "Oh... This is nice."

Fang grinned at her. "Don't let it get cold, now." She paused to watch as Lightning moved her utensils to cut into the meat, and Fang nearly raised an eyebrow at the diligent efficiency that she used to slice it into equal bits. "Fan of knives, huh?"

Once she had finished, Lightning twirled the sharpened blade in place with one hand. "Comes with the territory... I'd show you my _gunblade_, but I have a feeling that these people wouldn't be very happy if I did."

Vanille looked around at the dining area with a quiet giggle.

"Suppose they wouldn't..." Fang began to smile as she cut into her own steak. "So, what were you saying before?"

Lightning moved to bite down on a piece of food, and as soon as she was able to stop her eyes from glazing over at near-_indescribable_ taste that rendered her quite speechless, she inhaled, vowing that she would obtain the recipe for her own use, no matter what the cost.

"Light?"

Lightning snapped back to the present. "If I'm going up against a god, I'll need backup if I want to make it out alive."

"Well, what sort of backup?" Vanille paused to eat a piece of her pastry. "How can we help?"

Lightning looked to the side. "I'm not even entirely sure; I was talking just yesterday with a group of fallen Seraphim, and one of them mentioned that I would need a Nephilim if I wanted any chance at all of surviving the encounter."

"Fallen Seraphim?" Vanille scowled as Fang began to pour out a pile of salt upon her steak. "Fang, that's _gotta_ be unhealthy!"

Fang rolled her eyes. "Well, if they don't season it right..." She started to even out the salt with her fork. "Don't get distracted, now; this was just getting interesting."

"Alright, a fallen Seraphim." Lightning slowly shook her head. "If you start to become a public nuisance in Cocoon..." She paused, cursing at the underlying bitterness that began to invade her senses. "After a while, punishments get harsher, and you'll eventually be cast out to Earth."

"Okay... But why do you need a Nephilim?" Fang took a large bite of her steak, despite the look Vanille gave her. "What's confronting this god gonna get for her, anyway? You think he'll just take the brand off if you ask?"

Lightning slowly shook her head. "I'm going to try bargaining with him." She pushed her fork around on her plate for a moment, before she looked back up at Fang. "Bhunivelze can't even _touch_ humans, and if a Nephilim is half-human..."

"_That's_ why you'd need our help..." Vanille thought in silence for a moment. "But what if it turns ugly? What if we..?"

Lightning closed her eyes. "I've taken on opponents somewhat close to a god, but never something... Like that." She inhaled after a moment, breathing in the gentle wind that carried itself through the patio. "Even then, I have to try for Serah's sake."

Fang nearly started to ask in which way had Serah's brand been frozen, but when she looked back at Lightning's open, almost wary eyes, the words stilled against her lips, and she kept silent.

* * *

><p>Something quivered at her back, and Serah paused, stopping in place. "Mog, what are you..?" She looked over her shoulder as her bow began to dematerialize, reforming as a veritable lump of white, snuffling fur along her living-room floor. "Hey, what's gotten into you?"<p>

Mog flopped to the ground, lay flat on his belly. "Urmm..."

Serah knelt down beside him. "What is it?"

With a low, sniffing sound, Mog moved one of his paws to push the hair back from his face. "Tick, tick..."

Serah narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong? Let me see."

Mog merely whimpered for a moment, before he moved back up to a sitting position, revealing the intricate timepiece embedded within his chest. "Tick..? Won't tick."

Serah's eyes went wide. "It... Stopped?" She frowned, reaching over to trace along the enchanted glass that kept the mechanism safe. "How do we fix something like this?"

Mog whimpered again as he covered his face with his paws. "Dunno."

"Well..." Serah leaned back to stare at the gigantic, fuzzy creature. "I'll ask Lightning when she gets back; maybe she'll know what might've happened to it."

Mog began to poke at the side of his chest. "Look."

Serah blinked at the numbers inlaid within the device. "What?"

Mog pointed by the top. "New number."

Serah squinted, before her eyes began to widen. "How did this..?"

Mog shrugged with his front legs, poking his curved, index claw against the large, silent clock. "One, three... But no tick?" He suddenly yawned, before he let his paws drop to his sides. "Oh well."

Serah shook her head. "No, not _'oh well_', this could be serious!" She frowned as Mog quickly disappeared into a swirling cloud of mist, before he reformed again as her sleek, recurve bow, landing just beside where she was sitting. "Mog, wait! What if this is something bad?"

The bow lay silently on the floor for a moment, before Serah picked it up with a sigh, setting it down against a hook on the wall.

"Alright, but let me know if something _else_ happens..." Serah shook her head, before she walked out into the house, pondering the situation over in her head.

* * *

><p>"Well, now that you've got pockets that zip..." Fang nudged at Lightning's shoulder as they walked down over the wide, terrace path. "You should be able to carry a bit of stuff along with you."<p>

Lightning nodded. "I'll have to get an enchantment on them for my wings, though." She reached down for the bag in her hand, retrieving her older, worn jacket. "I've had this one for... A long time."

Vanille looked over at her with a smile. "Hey, you should put on the scarf before you go!" She pointed at the paper bag. "It'll look really cool when you're flying, don't you think?"

Slowly, Lightning reached down for the red, silky cloth. "I'll have to tie it off so it doesn't fall." She began to run her fingers over the fabric. "Thank you for this... And for the clothes, too."

Fang cracked a grin. "Hey, we weren't about to let you run off without something nice." She turned to lean back against a nearby banister, and the wind brushed some of her hair to the side. "Just bring your sister back next time so we can do the same with her."

Lightning nearly smiled. "I think she'd like that."

Vanille clasped her hands together with a grin. "We could go out to dinner again and everything! And if you guys can try and teach us-" She paused, wavering slightly. "Well, whatever we'd _need_ to know to help you..."

Fang looked over at her sister with a slight frown, but it quickly faded along with the rejuvenated tone in her voice.

Vanille began to hop in place. "Or we could ask aunt Chocolina! I'd bet _she'll_ know how to-"

"Hey, _she_ has some explaining to do..." Fang held back a scowl. "If she's really in on this, why didn't she tell us beforehand?"

"She might've been afraid." Lightning spoke in a soft tone, yet she was loud enough to be audible above the distant din of traffic. "Listen, nobody was really allowed to leave Cocoon, back then... She might have thought it was safer to keep this a secret."

"But _we_ wouldn't have..." Fang paused. "It is one big secret, isn't it? That's why you guys hide."

Lightning nearly looked away. "We were told... That humans might be afraid of us and eventually attack, so we weren't allowed to leave." She held up her right hand, envisioning the swirling, potent energy within her muscles. "When Cocoon fell, I didn't even _think_ to go down here; it was just never an option in the first place."

"Well, you won't have to hide around us!" Vanille began to smile, reaching up to tap at Lightning's shoulders. "We won't tell _anyone_, so if you need a place to stay, down here..."

"Or if the weather gets rough..." Fang looked at the worn clothing within Lightning's hand. "Or if you don't have the money for food, we can always spare some."

Lightning blinked, barely finding a scrap of will to fight away the fluttery, warm sensation within her chest. "Thank you." After a moment of silence, she cleared her throat, before she pointed out at the city. "I did find this one place, where if you don't mind it being cold, they'll give you the food that other people didn't take so that it doesn't go to waste." Lightning slowly let her arm fall. "But it isn't a place where you sit down, not like this one."

Fang nodded. "Probably a take-out joint." She leaned back a little. "Come see us again sometime, alright? I'd like to know a little more about this Nephilim business."

"I will." Lightning began to slip her old jacket on over her shirt, still bearing several rips and holes, some of which were neatly stitched up, while most seemed to have been inflicted by some form of combat. "It was nice to meet the two of you."

Vanille fidgeted in place for a moment, before she whispered something in Lightning's direction.

Lightning gave her a tiny smile. "It's alright, I'm used to them, _from_-" She tensed, nearly tackled in a hug, before she slowly began to return it, patting along Vanille's back. "From my sister."

"I meant what I said." Fang let out a chuckle. "Bring her down sometime, if even just to see the city..." She pointed off at the sky. "It's one of the most beautiful ones I've seen."

As Lightning looked back down at the distant ground below, clutching the paper bag against her chest, scarf fluttering at her back, she couldn't help but agree.

* * *

><p>Thin, silvery bits of metal swirled in place about the metal clasp, but as the device itself was clenched between shaking fingertips, it merely continued to click, keeping a simple rhythm in time with the heart beating rapidly above.<p>

"I'm on my _way_, so don't worry..." Slowly, the voice softened to a whisper. "Just hang on, alright? It'll be time enough soon."

The watch offered no reply, save the constant click, tick, _tick_, steadily counting away.

* * *

><p>She landed beneath a pale, distant moon, and as Lightning rose to her feet, allowing her wings to fall back to her shoulders, she briefly wondered how far off into orbit their home had since drifted, before she shook her head, pushing in through the nearby doorway.<p>

"Serah..." Lightning kept her voice low, and she began to frown at the darkened house, summoning a tiny light within her fingertips to brighten the way. "You still up?"

"Light?" Serah's voice was somewhat muffled. "I'm in the living-room."

Lightning walked in silence throughout the hallway, until a dim, flickering light allowed her to shake away the one from her hand. "It's late, Serah." She moved into the circular room, before she nearly tensed when Serah jumped up to hug her.

"Light!" Serah tried to keep her voice low, but nearly a thousand questions began to buzz about her mind, and she had to force herself not to speak them all at once.

"Hey." Lightning let the bag fall from her hand, and it thumped down against the floor as she returned the hug. "I'm sorry for taking so long, but... I made some new friends, Serah."

After a brief moment, Serah moved back with widened eyes. "Really?" She stared at Lightning's expression, taking note of the half-smile on her face. "What sort of friends? Oh, what's-?"

Lightning reached up to run a bit of the scarf between her fingers. "Generous friends." She moved after a moment, sitting down on the makeshift sofa, but not before she had picked up the paper bag from the floor. "They... It was almost an accident, really."

Serah sat down as well, smiling at the various garments that Lightning took out from the bag. "They _gave_ you those?"

Lightning shook her head. "Bought, with their own money."

Serah leaned over to examine at one of the shirts. "Wow..." She held up the clothing in front of Lightning's jacket. "This does go well with your complexion."

Lightning almost rolled her eyes. "They're for wearing, not-" She found herself shaking her head. "If you think so."

Serah giggled. "I do!" She placed the shirt down with a grin. "So, what are their names? Were they other Seraphim, like the one that you talked about-"

Lightning shook her head. "Nephilim... Half Seraph."

Serah froze for a moment, before she narrowed her eyes slightly. "Light, you really..?"

"They _aren't_..." Lightning paused to shake her head again. "Serah, the Sanctum wasn't right about much of anything, and you know it."

"Okay." Serah began to chew at her bottom lip, leaning back against the sofa. "I just worry, sometimes... I've never been down there, so I wouldn't know about humans, but-" She took a deep breath. "I just don't want anything to happen to _you_, you know?"

Lightning reached over to poke at Serah's forehead. "I'll be careful."

Serah beamed at her. "So what were their _names?! _You've gotta fill me in, here!"

Lightning chuckled under her breath. "Fang and Vanille..." She folded up the shirt over her lap, smoothing out the wrinkles. "They wanted to meet you, actually."

Serah sat up in rapt attention, barely keeping her balance on the couch. "Really? But if they've never met me before..."

"Vanille, she was the younger..." Lightning looked off into the distance. "She had drawn pictures of what Cocoon used to look like, from the dreams she'd had."

"A seer?" Serah leaned back against the sofa again. "I didn't think there were even..." After a brief moment, Serah sat back up. "That reminds me, actually."

"Oh?" Lightning watched as Serah stood up to walk across the room, before she returned with her bow in her arms. "What's Mog got to do with-?"

"His chest! The clock stopped..." Serah glanced along the various metal charms that lay inlaid along the upper limb of the bow. "He _seems_ fine, but there's an extra number on it."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "Call him out?"

Serah nodded. "Mog, Light needs to see..."

After a brief moment, the bow began to fade, before Mog appeared once more upon the floor. "Light... Light."

Lightning nodded at him. "Come here, let me look."

Mog shuffled over to her side. "No tick."

Lightning reached out, tracing along the metal edge. "When did this start?"

With a muffled, snuffling sound, Mog shook his head back and forth. "Dunno."

Lightning narrowed her eyes at the device, examining the unusual number at the very top of the clock's face. "Thirteen... And it's stopped."

Mog looked down at himself, and while his shaggy fur covered most of his eyes, he was able to see the area around him with ease. "Don't worry."

Serah frowned. "This isn't right, Mog..." She gently tapped at the glass. "We need to make sure this isn't bad for you."

Lightning looked up at the fuzzy creature. "Mog, you know that if anything happens to you..."

Mog suddenly startled, before he moved over to pull Serah into a hug. "No, no... _Safe_."

Slowly, Lightning reached out to pat at the fuzz beside his ears. "I know that you wouldn't mean to hurt her, but if something happens to _you_, it happens to Serah as well."

Mog began to whine when Serah patted his neck. "Okay..."

Lightning nodded at him. "Hey, I have people to ask about this sort of thing." She ruffled the white, shaggy fur along Mog's nearest shoulder. "Sazh has experience with familiars, and I'd bet that Chocolina knows a bit about them too."

"It's okay, Mog." Serah tightly hugged him back. "Hey, maybe tomorrow we can both go down to Earth with Lightning... Would you like that?"

Mog slowly tilted his head to the side.

"It's a big planet, just beneath us..." Serah smiled at him. "I'd bet that there would be lots of space to run around if you were to blend in like us."

With a faint shimmer of magic, Mog disappeared into thin air, before he materialized again as a small, fluffy creature with a constantly wagging tail.

"That's probably good..." Serah grinned, scratching behind his ears. "But from what I've heard, animals down there don't talk very much."

Lightning bit back a smirk. "Not at all... You wouldn't believe how-" She exhaled. "How _embarrassing_ it was; they had to explain stuff to me like a child."

Serah shook her head. "Well I'd bet that they don't know much about moogles, either." She smiled down at Mog. "If you're new at something, don't worry about it."

Lightning watched as Mog ran about in circles across the living-room floor, before she let a smile twitch over her mouth. "You two should get some rest... If we're going for a field-trip tomorrow, you'd better be awake for it."

Serah smiled as well. "You heard the lady!"

With a low chirp, Mog disappeared once more, before Serah's bow thumped down in the place he had been.

Serah giggled. "Thanks." She picked up the bow, walking up to the wall beside them. "You're still going off to practice with Hope in the morning, right? We could ask him to come along, too."

Lightning began to nod. "I'm not sure if he'd want to go, but a flight like that _would_ be good for his overall stamina." She rose to her feet, before she turned around to pick up the bag of clothes. "Meet us out on the field once you wake up, okay? We should leave early to ask around about Mog."

Serah smiled at her. "I will." With a nod, she moved out into the hallway. "Don't stay up too long."

Lightning moved to follow after her. "I'm a bit tired from today; I won't even stay up to read." She walked over to her doorway, before she moved inside with a half-concealed smile. "Goodnight, Serah."

Serah watched as Lightning let the door fall shut behind her, and while she didn't immediately grin in her wake, Serah silently began to thank every deity that she could think of that her sister had managed to obtain not one, but _two_ new friends, before she turned, entering her own room with a wide smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Bits of sunlight peeked out from beneath the speckled cloud-cover; with a quiet yawn, Hope pushed himself to keep walking over the cobblestone path, even as his eyelids fought of their own will to close, goading his feet along with them.<p>

"Ten minutes."

Hope nearly jumped at the voice, but before he could whirl around to see who it was, a gentle thump sounded at his side.

"Ten minutes late..." Lightning stood with her wings out, sword in hand. "If this were an ambush, you'd have had a blade in your stomach before you'd even gotten to breakfast."

Hope fought the urge to frown. "Sorry... I'll try to keep better track of time."

After a moment, Lightning's expression softened. "I was only _three_ minutes late, so there's that."

Hope nearly smiled. "So, just more sparring today?" He glanced at her wings. "Or are-"

"We're taking a trip after your lesson..." Lightning turned the wooden sword over in her hand. "So I thought it was only fitting to make the jump to mid-air combat."

As fast it had appeared, Hope's smile began to fade, but he soon began to nod, before his own silver wings moved out from beside his shoulders. "We're going down to Earth?"

Lightning nodded, stepping off to the side. "If you want to join us, that is."

Hope gripped at the handle of his sword, tracking her every movement. "Okay, midair combat?"

Lightning smirked.

Bracing himself, Hope held fast as a whirling torrent of air spiraled out from where Lightning had just been standing, and he while nearly missed blocking an attack from the side, he quickly brought up his sword to parry it, but Lightning was already upside-down and clashing back against his blade with a swift riposte.

"I meant it yesterday, you _are_ getting quicker." Lightning hovered in place for a split second, before she pushed her wings forward, which sent Hope tumbling back a short ways. "But you're _still_ on your feet..." Her own shoes landed softly against the concrete. "Get some equal ground, now."

Hope started to nod, but he found that his wings were quite stiff with adrenaline, and as he tried forcing them to move, he could barely manage to get himself off of the ground.

"You _need_ to keep a cool head in combat..." Lightning lowered her sword to signal a ceasefire. "Let the tension in your muscles work to your advantage; it can really strengthen you when you need it to."

Hope nodded, but after a moment, Lightning walked up to his side.

"Like this." She pointed at the base of his wings. "Think of them... As if they work the same way that your legs do when you're running at me to strike; you don't let your knees tense up, do you?"

Hope shook his head, willing himself to breathe, before he attempted it once again, soon leaping forward to lift himself off from the ground.

Lightning tipped her head back, watching him circle the area. "Good, now try to land a hit on me." She lifted her sword again, offering a steady block.

Hope blinked with the wind in his face, before he angled his wings to circle sharply to the side, but for a moment he was content to merely soar above her, searching for an opening.

"Oh, take your time..." Lightning nearly smirked. "Your friends are all down here fighting while you take a moment to sight-see."

Hope bit back a grimace. "Alright, alright..." He readied his blade and dropped forward, tucking in his wings to free-fall a short distance, before he shouted, striking forth with a fierce, downward slash.

"Right..." Lightning stepped to the side, swiveling her blade around Hope's own in a quick, decisive tangle until she had disarmed him, raising the point of her sword to rest directly beside his neck. "It's good that this is just practice; you've got a bit of strength behind your blows, but I think that you should be focusing more on using your size to your advantage."

Hope let out a shaky breath when she lowered the blade. "In what way?"

Lightning pointed at his wings. "Did you notice how quickly you turned back there?" She extended one of her wide, white wings. "Smaller wings make for sharper maneuvers, and you have the _potential_ to outpace me up there."

Hope nodded, kneeling to pick up his sword. "Will you show me how you'd approach someone like that?" He moved to imitate the stance she had taken previously, holding up his sword to block a skyward attack. "I couldn't find a good opening in that time frame."

Lightning walked away to get a running start. "Watch closely." She soon leapt out into the air, and Hope took note of the way she was more accustomed to larger, sweeping turns, instead of the hairpin dive that he had previously been able to make.

Bracing himself, Hope watched her each and every move, until a slight tilt of her wings signaled a sharp turn, and she came hurtling down, thrusting her sword against his braced, steady stance, but as he prepared to parry, Lightning's blade moved to jab beside his belly, missing his stomach by a mere hairsbreadth.

"_That_ would be the sound of your guts hitting the concrete." Lightning moved her sword back with a nod. "A feint, Hope... If your enemy won't come to you, _you_ have to draw them out."

Hope shivered a bit. "I'm glad you know how to accurately miss..."

Lightning nearly laughed. "Bit of an oxymoron, but I agree."

With a nod, Hope readied himself again. "Okay, what now?"

Lightning readied herself as well. "Same as that, but try to riposte." She jumped off into the air, spreading her wings out as she took flight. "You're doing well, Hope."

Hope could only smile as he braced himself for another attack, standing firm against her rapid, oncoming dive.

* * *

><p>"Hey!" Serah jumped up, waving over the milling crowd, before she ducked down to maneuver within it. "Snow, wait up!"<p>

Turning to face her, Snow began to smile. "Hey, Serah..!" He chuckled as she jumped up to hug him, slowly twirling her in place. "What's gotten into you? I _know_ you're a morning person, but..."

Serah laughed. "I'm going with Light today!" She leaned back in his arms, staring at the sky above the canyon. "You know what this _means_, right? She's trusting you with the first line of defense back here..."

Snow's eyes went wide. "That _would_ be..." He nodded with a solemn whisper. "I'll keep my eyes open, so don't you worry."

Serah shook her head. "I won't." She smiled, before she let her wings move out, falling to rest by her shoulders. "I wish we could _all_ go, but..."

Snow nodded. "I know... But maybe we'll have some of these recruits in shape before too long." He looked out over the town, facing the entrance of the canyon itself. "I mean, Light's been training a lot with Hope, right?"

"They should be out there right now..." Serah followed his gaze, turning in his arms, before she began to slowly step away. "Every morning, you know, they go out there and spar."

Snow smiled. "It'll be good for the kid to learn stuff like that." He moved his hands up, clasping them together. "Once she's taught him for a while, I'll see if _I_ can take over the hand-to-hand side of things..."

Serah looked down at the bow beside her back. "I might take you up on it, too; I won't be much use to anyone if I get disarmed, or worse."

Snow nodded. "Anytime, just let me know!" He tapped at her shoulder, before his hand moved to brush just beneath her chin. "Have fun today."

Serah beamed at him. "I will."

* * *

><p>With a running jump, Hope rose up to strike at the side of Lightning's waist, but she quickly spun in midair to ward off further attacks, whacking him away with her very wings to send him toppling back.<p>

"Hey you two!" Serah ran out with her bow slung across her back, waving up at them. "Man, Lightning! He actually hit you, there..."

With a nod, Lightning dropped back to the ground, holding her sword off to the side. "We've made a lot of progress."

Hope soon landed as well, nearly out of breath. "Hey, Serah..." He took a moment to regain himself, before he turned around to face them both. "Your sister doesn't let up."

Serah grinned. "She's the best sort of teacher... Just wait 'til _I_ start running classes, myself." She reached over to pat the top of Hope's head. "You won't know what hit you."

Hope rolled his eyes. "That's very reassuring."

Lightning set her sword down in a nearby alcove, gesturing for Hope to hand over his as well. "You two ready to leave?"

Serah nodded, nearly jumping in place. "Yup! If we could find those people you talked about earlier, to see about Mog..."

Lightning pushed at a bit of tall grass to conceal the practice weapons. "We'll see them first, don't worry."

Hope glanced over at Serah's bow. "What's up with Mog?"

Serah had already followed after Lightning, and with a silent jump, she swiveled in midair as her wings snapped out at both sides. "I'll tell you on the way!"

Hope watched as they both disappeared beneath the edge, before he took a deep breath, leaping off as well.

* * *

><p>AN: At this rate they might just have to send Mog through the phantom tollbooth. ;)


	7. Tock

With her wings tucked in, arms at her sides, Serah dropped down throughout the thick, rushing vapor of cloud-cover, and she gasped, holding her breath until the moisture had parted to reveal the white, speckled sea just below.

"Serah!" Lightning quickly banked to the side, wings outstretched. "We're nearly in _sight_ of it, so stay close!"

Serah let her wings snap our halfway, bracing her rapid descent. "Okay! But where's Hope?"

Lightning pointed at off the clouds below, and as Serah squinted to see, she almost laughed at the gray blur weaving in and out from each wispy patch of clouds, nearly toppling back over on himself at times.

Lightning smirked to herself. "Let's move..." She tipped herself forward, diving down beneath the vast, churning white. "Hope, stay near us!"

Hope looked back at her with a nod, folding his wings together to mimic her descent. "Are we getting close?"

Lightning nodded, before she paused to blink away the vapor that had gathered on her face, squinting through the heavy clouds. "Keep your eyes open!"

Serah ducked down, falling in with their formation, before she stilled, dropping just as fast, but her eyes went wide upon sight of the massive, sprawling city below, clouds wisping away from her wings. "Light, look at _that!_"

Lightning held back a laugh. "I know, Serah."

"But really, just _look_..." Serah's breath slowed as they entered the open air, and while the wind still whistled clearly her ears, the world almost seemed to fall silent as she stretched her arms out, taking full sight of the world below. "It's..."

Hope spoke up after a moment. "Amazing..." He kept his wings tucked in as they fell, although he occasionally had to stretch them out to keep himself balanced. "Hey, where are we landing?"

Lightning dipped to the side. "Stay close... I know where we can land down there without being seen, just follow me."

Serah began to flap just to keep up with her sister, spinning off as she turned to the side. "Wait, we're not low enough for anyone to notice us, right?"

Lightning nodded, before she tightened her wings again, diving down for the ground far below. "Steady, now..." A blustering wind swept out into their path, but when Lightning looked up to check on her charges, she quickly let out a sigh of relief as they kept on her tail, copying her every adjustment. "Nearly there... Just land within the trees!"

Serah peered down at the oncoming stretch of green, before she nodded, angling herself so that her wings snapped out once more, readying both her arms and legs for a sharp, landing slide.

"_Now_, Hope!" Lightning fanned out her wide, striking wingspan, and she caught the air with a grunt. "C'mon, Hope, we're landing!"

With a shiver, Hope let his wings fall open, but not before he nearly slammed into a passing tree-branch, scuffing the side of his arm against it. "I'm... I'm alright!"

Lightning hissed at the scent of blood. "_Dammit, _Hope..!" She let herself glide past the tangled maze of leaves and branches, before she flapped her wings out a bit wider, easing her fall to a running drop. "Hope, where'd you land?!" Lightning hit the ground with a grunt, before she raced off, only to find Hope leaning against a nearby tree. "What the _hell_ were you-?!"

Hope dragged himself to his feet. "Sorry, _sorry_... Just froze up a sec." He clutched at the scrape on his arm, shaking his head. "It's just a scratch, don't worry."

Lightning grit her teeth, before she stalked up to seize the injured limb with a quiet hiss. "You... _Stupid_." She reached down to unzip her jacket pocket for a roll of medical cloth, unraveling it in one hand as she muttered quietly.

"Wait, _Light_, it's..." Hope quieted as she took out a bottle of antiseptic, and he grimaced when she dabbed a bit of it onto the cloth. "It's alright, you don't have to-"

"_Shush_." Lightning rubbed down on the wound with the swatch of cloth. "I'm not about to let this damn thing get infected..."

"Hope!" Serah called out from a short distance away. "Light, is he okay?!"

"We're over here, Serah!" After a moment, Lightning glanced over her shoulder to see her sister run out from the trees. "Just a scrape, he'll be fine."

Serah darted over to stand beside them. "Oh..." She began to gently pat at Hope's shoulder. "Good thing Light brought along the first-aid stuff, huh?"

Lightning rolled her eyes. "Knowing the two of you, I figured it was a safe bet."

Serah scoffed, swatting at Lightning's arm with the side of her wing. "Hey, I'm nothing if not careful!"

With a shrug, Lightning tied the cloth off into a knot. "I'll take a better look at it later on, but _don't_ mess with it in the meantime."

Hope nodded. "Thank you."

Lightning merely jabbed at his forehead with her index finger. "Don't mention it."

"So, where _are_ we, exactly?" Serah peered around at the forest, but she found that there was very little she could see but trees, except for the occasional, towering building that lay off in the distance. "Which city is this, did you say?"

"Vallis." Lightning moved to lead the way down into a small clearing. "We're in a park, but the city surrounds it on all sides."

Serah jumped off to follow her, before she began to hide her wings within the energy swirling at her back. "Okay... So where are the people you were talking about?" She soon ducked beneath a fallen tree-trunk, before she gestured for Hope to follow. "That one you mentioned, Chocolina..? She has all the birds, right?"

Lightning nodded. "I'm going to try and get a hold of Sazh, first." She held her arm up for a moment, condensing a small, rotating shard of light within her palm. "He has connections all over this city, so he's our best bet for finding out what's up with Mog."

Hope's eyes went wide as the sliver of magic brightened, before Lightning swung back, hurling it out into the air, and the shard rocketed off with a sharp, yet tiny whistle of sound.

Lightning watched the trail of light until it had disappeared within the brightened sky. "He'll be sure to sense that from wherever he is." Lightning walked up to push her way past a dense bit of foliage, and they soon began to step out into a wide, untamed field. "Well, here we are."

A smile crossed Serah's face. "Wow..."

Gazing up at the sprawling city skyline, the trio fell silent for a brief moment, simply content to stand with the wind in their faces, staring out along the massive structures above.

* * *

><p>"Alright, if we can just make it in time before the crowds get there..." Fang tightened her grip on the handles, steering the motorcycle off into a tight curve. "Vanille..? You even listening?"<p>

Vanille called out from behind her helmet. "Yup! Hey, do you think that we might run into Light again?"

Fang shrugged, rustling the hair that whipped along by her neck and back. "I'm not sure, but you never know." She revved the motorcycle, leaning out to the side as they came along a bend in the road. "I'd count it lucky if we even-"

Vanille tapped at her shoulders. "Did you hear that?" She nearly had to shout over the rumbling engine, before she pointed off into the distance. "There's something..." Vanille gasped. "Fang, can't you _feel_ that?"

Fang kept her gaze on the road. "Trying to focus, Van!"

Vanille soon tugged at Fang's jacket. "Pull over for a sec?"

"We're gonna miss the movie..." At her sister's silence, Fang sighed, slowly easing off into the dusty patch of dirt beside the road. "Fine... What's this about, then?"

Vanille jumped down from the motorcycle, before she moved her hands to pull the helmet away from her face. "Just... _Listen?_ There's something over there."

Fang squinted from atop her seat, before a low, warbling noise pitched out into her ears, barely audible above the engine beneath her. "Yeah, I hear it."

Vanille turned to face her. "I'd bet it's Light!" She began to smile, slowly, before she skipped back over to the motorcycle. "We could always skip the movie; maybe she's doing something more interesting."

Fang rolled her eyes. "If that's even _Light_... It could be something _entirely_ different, for all we know."

Vanille snapped her helmet back on. "Well, you have the wheel."

Fang let out a sigh. "Handles, Van."

Vanille nodded. "Handles."

With a roar, the motorcycle flew back to life, carrying them both down the winding, asphalt road.

* * *

><p>As he released the whirling cover of magic that covered both himself and his wings, Sazh dropped down against the grass, ruffling his deep, nearly wine-colored plumage as he did so. "Hey there, Light! Was just looking for you, actually."<p>

Lightning soon stepped up from a small ravine, gripping the grass above to pull herself up to the field. "Hey, we're in need of some advice..." Sitting down, she turned back to give Hope her hand. "This is Hope, and that's my sister, Serah."

Serah jumped up to grasp at a thick clump of grass, before Sazh moved over to offer her his arm. "Oh, thank you!" She smiled at him as he helped her out from the ditch. "Nice to meet you."

Sazh grinned. "Likewise." He turned to face Lightning as she rose to her feet. "We've got a bit of a situation going on here, actually..." Sazh glanced over at Serah's bow. "Uh, you _might_ want to keep something like that back at home, next time... Most civilians around here aren't carrying weaponry."

Serah merely smiled, before she reached up to at the edge of her bow, causing it to dissolve in midair. "This is Mog."

With a snuffle, Mog stood tall within the grassy field, sniffing away at the mixture of strange, earthy scents that swirled about the field, paws outstretched.

"Damn..." Sazh looked up at the giant creature. "That is one _big_ moogle."

Serah giggled. "Mog, you're going to get us in trouble!" She jumped up to tap at his shoulder. "C'mon, you can blend in better when you're tiny."

With a nod, Mog disappeared into a puff of mist, before a chirp echoed out from the grass below, and a tiny, white creature jumped up to peer above the tall, rustling field.

Serah knelt down to carry him."That's better!"

Sazh grinned at the little patch of fluff. "Hey, he could pass for a Pomeranian at that rate..." At his companion's blank expressions, Sazh waved his hands back and forth. "You know, a dog..? You kids don't get out much, huh?"

Lightning shook her head. "It's their first time on Earth."

Sazh chuckled. "Well, all you've gotta do now is learn how to bark." He gently poked at Mog's nose. "Bark a couple times, and you'll do just fine."

Mog tipped his fuzzy head to the side. "Why?"

Sazh almost stepped back, eyebrows raised. "Uh, no _talking_, either... Dogs can't talk."

Mog sniffed at the air. "Okay."

"Good boy." Sazh turned to face Lightning. "Anyways, I've been off on the lookout today for a thief..."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "What's been stolen?" She glanced at the winding path beside the field. "If it's another Seraphim, we can probably track their aura."

Sazh shook his head. "They must've used something to cover their trail; we've been fanning out all _over_ the city, and not a trace." He began to scratch at the back of his neck. "It was some sort of watch that Amodar's been looking after; it's the kind that has... 'Unusual' capabilities."

Serah looked down at Mog's neck, which sported a silent, dangling timepiece from the collar around his neck. "Was it anything like this one? Mog's had his forever, but it _did_ stop working at some point yesterday..."

Sazh moved to examine the metal device beneath Mog's chin. "Well, I'll be damned... That's a watch of the hidden hour."

Lightning frowned, before she stepped over to look as well. "The hidden hour..?"

Sazh nodded. "Amodar's watch is a little similar, but it stays closed up until it can draw in enough power to operate." He reached to pat at Mog's head. "If I _had_ to guess, I'd say that that's why your little buddy's has stopped working."

Serah hugged Mog a little tighter to her chest. "Is it serious? Will he be-?"

Sazh could only shrug. "I'm not entirely sure, but Amodar _does_ know more on the subject than I do." As he turned to face the nearby path, a low, rumbling sound began to approach from a distance. "We _could_ go meet up with him to see what he can tell you."

Hope looked up with a frown. "Is it very far? I can't fly invisibly like you guys can..."

Lightning squinted at the approaching vehicle. "You might not _have_ to..." With a slow, tiny smile, she began to walk forward. "Some friends must've felt my signal."

Serah turned to face the helmeted riders as they skidded to a halt beside the grass, and with a tiny chirp, Mog leapt out from Serah's arms, darting over to greet them.

"Hi!" Mog ran around in circles, before he jumped up to sit on Vanille's lap. "Hi."

Vanille sat in complete silence for a moment, before her eyes went very wide. "Is that dog _really_..?"

Fang knocked down the kickstand with her heel. "Man, just when you think you've seen everything..." She began to stand up, pulling the helmet down from her head, which sent her wind-tousled hair cascading out over her back. "I mean, flying people, talking dogs..."

"Hi?" Mog stared up at Vanille. "Bark? Bark, bark."

Vanille giggled, waving at Lightning as she walked over to stand beside them. "I think your friend is trying to blend in, too..."

Lightning's wings had already folded back into her aura, but she nodded, patting at Mog's head. "This is Mog, Serah's familiar." She turned to the side. "...And this, is Serah."

"Hey, look at that!" Fang chuckled at the woman before her. "You look just like your big sister."

Serah smiled at them. "Hello... How do I, um?-"

"Just like normal." Lightning nodded at Serah. "I get the feeling that our cultures share most of the same formalities."

Serah let out a breath as relief washed over her in waves. "That's good..." She waved at them. "I'm Serah."

Lightning looked back over her shoulder. "Hope, where'd you run off to?"

After a moment, Hope slowly walked out with something on his wrist. "Um, look at this..."

Lightning moved over to examine the small, almost motionless creature resting just above the patterned markings upon his skin. "Hope, it might be-"

"Ah, just a butterfly." Fang walked over to squint at the little insect. "That's a painted lady... Probably thinks your tattoo there is a flower."

Hope held completely still. "It won't bite?"

Fang shook her head with a quiet laugh. "It might tickle you a little; they've got these long, curly tongues to sip up nectar with." She moved to place Hope's other hand in hers, before she guided his index finger over beside the butterfly. "Look, maybe she'll sit on your hand..."

With a gentle push, the butterfly started to crawl up over Hope's finger, before it stopped to rest just along his knuckles.

"Don't touch her wings, now..." Fang smiled at the colorful insect. "They're pretty fragile, and she can't live for too long if the bits break off."

Hope frowned a little. "They'll come off that easily..?"

Fang moved to point at the tiny, scale-like material that covered the butterfly's wings. "Yup, those scales come off at the touch."

Vanille hopped down from the motorcycle to smile at the slowly flapping creature, until it had fluttered off to land on Hope's shoulder.

"So, what're _you_ guys doing out in this neck of the woods?" Sazh reached over to ruffle at Vanille's hair. "I'm guessing that if Lightning's already-"

Fang reeled off to jab at Sazh's side. "_Damn_ it, old man! Keeping the wool over our eyes like that..." She tried to glare at him, but slowly, a smile fought to take its place. "You and that _blasted_ aunt."

Sazh held up his hands with a wry, somewhat sheepish grin. "Hey, _hey!_ It wasn't my place to go spilling the beans for her..." He waved his hands with a quick shake of his head. "Nope, not my business."

Vanille scowled at him, before she leapt up to hug him anyway. "Oh, _Sazh_... You've gotta be a Seraphim too, then!"

Sazh's smile began to drop. "Well, not entirely."

Mog suddenly jumped up to perch on Sazh's shoulder. "Bark!"

"Silly thing..." Sazh waved him off. "I said to try _barking_, not saying bark!"

Lightning cleared her throat. "Fang, if you have the time, we've got somewhat of a mystery on our hands..." She glanced over at the dark, streamlined motorcycle. "We could use as much help with this as we can get."

Fang slowly began to grin. "Well, I _do_ love a mystery..."

* * *

><p>As the wind rustled out through the tall, wild grass, a lone figure walked alongside a tiny, humming machine, but as they neared the edge of the field, the plains soon swept down to border a wide, darkened forest.<p>

After a quiet series of clicks and chirp, Bhakti began to wheel himself up the edge of a rock formation, before he began to swivel at the top of it. "This is _most_ peculiar... We appear to be within an area comprised of mostly wilderness, and yet I can detect _several_ signs of mechanical life within the forest beyond that ridge."

Snow stood just beside the boulder, and he soon held up his wrist to shield his eyes from the sun. "Suppose it might be the Sanctum... Probably just some stray PSICOM units, by the feel of it."

Bhakti began to hum. "PSICOM... Now what could turn _PSCIOM_ against its own people?" He swiveled to face Snow. "Earlier, Serah told me all of what she knew regarding the events leading up to 'the fall', but she was unaware of what had happened after a certain point." Bhakti paused, before he turned around to face the forest. "All she could say was that violence _erupted_ once the shell began to show signs of collapsing, but after that, she only recalled waking up to see a stasis container around her, reading approximately _fifty_ years of induced stasis."

After a moment, Snow began to nod. "I only met them after all of that was said and done... I was hiding out with some buddies here, but we were getting picked off, one by one... For _years_." He clenched his hand into a fist, before a tiny, gentle glow moved to envelop his fingers. "I caught a glimpse of Serah, Light, and the others one day; they were fighting off a squadron of PSICOM elites out in the woods... Let's just say that I wasn't about to let them go without assistance."

As Snow continued to speak, the glow at his hands intensified, before the gemstones within his gloves burst, scattering off into thin air.

"Oh... Twin familiars?" Bhakti hovered down from the rock with a quick puff of air. "How unusual."

Snow began to smile as a warm, fuzzy head pressed up against the palm of his glove, before a second creature trotted out from the grass, only to peer down at the forest below.

Bhakti took a moment to examine the pair of animals that stood just beside Snow. "Wolves, if my database is correct."

Snow glanced over at Bhakti, before he sat down so that one of the creatures could lick at his stubble. "Hey! Stiria, c'mon..." He gently pushed the animal back. "Wolves, huh? Never knew they had a name."

Nix trotted over to sniff at Bhakti, before she glanced back over her shoulder. "Friend?"

Snow nodded. "Yeah, Bhakti's cool... Don't worry."

Nix slowly began to wag her tail. "Good."

Stiria sat down beside Snow, wagging her tail as well. "Search?" She flicked her dark ears to the side. "Hunt?"

Snow nodded. "In a minute... We'll probably find plenty of PSICOM for you guys to chase off, so don't worry."

Nix let out a low bark as her ears rose up over her head. "Chase!" Her gray fur twitched beside lean, powerful muscles. "Chase, _chase_..."

Snow laughed. "Yeah, alright... Go on ahead, but keep a _sharp_ eye out for trouble." As he blinked, the wolves had already disappeared off into the grass, rustling quietly as they made their way down to the forest.

"They seem very..." Bhakti wheeled over to rest beside Snow. "Enthusiastic."

Snow nodded. "It comes from being pent up for too long." He rose to his feet, gazing down at the tall, whispering trees. "Sometimes... You just gotta let loose."

* * *

><p>Hope bit back a shiver as he clutched tightly against the rider before him. "Are you <em>sure<em> this thing is safe?!"

Fang laughed from just up ahead, revving the motorcycle. "Of course, kiddo! Don't you worry..." She looked up to smile at the subtle glimmer just above, and while she couldn't quite see anything beyond a slim, translucent form, she could _feel_ each gust of air sent down from the strong wing-beats that traveled alongside the vehicle.

"Hey, don't worry, Hope!" Vanille giggled away, despite the arms digging into her stomach. "You don't have to hold so tight, you know; Fang's a real great driver!"

"Oh... Okay." Hope frowned from within the helmet that Fang had given him. "I've never been on _anything_ like this before; are they common, around here?"

Fang leaned to the side, tracking the opaque figure as it flew off into another street. "In the city, yeah! Lots of people prefer them to cars."

Hope nearly grimaced. "Oh, great..."

Vanille giggled at him. "How is this any different from flying?" She looked back at the bandage on his arm. "You okay, by the way?"

Hope nodded. "Just a scratch."

Fang eased off on the gas, slowly drawing them to a stop. "Looks like we're here..." She looked up as Lightning suddenly appeared in midair, only to drop down beside them.

Sazh soon touched down as well, folding his wings aside to stride forward. "Right there... Hey, Amodar!"

"Eh?" Amodar glanced up from where he had been leaning against a lamppost. "Damn, you brought a whole gang along with you, huh?"

Lightning walked out over the street with Serah at her side, who had Mog in her arms, while Fang, Vanille and Hope made their way over from beside the parked motorcycle.

"Sir." Lightning nodded at the fluffy creature by Serah's chest. "We have something to ask you about familiars."

Amodar chuckled. "Sir? Missy, I do _appreciate_ the sentiment, but none of that." He stepped forward with a nod. "Who's this, then?"

Mog opened his mouth, almost as if he was smiling. "Bark! Bark."

"Oh? That's a _good_ little moogle!" Amodar let out a laugh. "Pretending to be a puppy, are you?"

Mog wagged his tail.

"It's this..." Serah stepped forward, holding up his collar. "We heard from Sazh that you might know something about them."

Amodar squinted at the tiny, golden timepiece. "Oh, that's interesting..." He leaned back with a nod. "I've actually lost one of my own; we've been trying to track down the slippery bugger all day, now."

Mog sniffed at the air. "Chase?"

Amodar nodded. "We're chasing a bad-guy, yeah."

Mog let out a tiny growl. "Catch..."

"Would _you_ want to help out, little guy?" Amodar looked back at Serah. "I'd be willing to patch up his getup, there... If it wasn't already fixed by getting mine back in the first place." He began to glance between each member of the group. "Alright, now... Who can tell me what the thirteenth hour is?" At their silence, Amodar started to sigh. "Man, what are they _teaching_ you kids in school?"

Sazh chuckled. "Hey, it's probably been more than a couple years..."

Amodar let out a low laugh. "True, true..." He turned to face the street itself, gazing along at the midday traffic. "Alright, I can fill you guys in on the way."

Fang spoke up. "On the way to what?"

Amodar looked back at her, before he squinted, examining her aura. "I know every fallen in this city, and even a few beyond... When did _you_ roll into town, sister?"

Vanille looked up at Fang with a tiny frown. "What does he..?"

Fang narrowed her eyes. "From what Lightning's told me, I'm a _Nephilim_, not a fallen..."

Amodar's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh? Damn." He began to smile at her. "Could've fooled me, then." With a shrug, he turned back to face the sidewalk. "Grab your bike, then, and let's get a move on."

Fang walked back to straddle the motorcycle, slowly pushing it forward as the engine came to life. "Okay, where are we heading?"

"Home-base." Amodar pointed at a nearby street. "We'll let our little buddy get a good sniff, and then we can track down whoever _stole_ the damn thing..." He soon cleared his throat. "Okay, the thirteenth hour... Many, many years ago, _whatever_; there was _once_ a powerful seer who discovered a hidden dimension; she did it by foreseeing that someday, some sort of 'thirteenth hour' would exist within every single day beyond that point."

"Are you serious?" Lightning narrowed her eyes at the back of Amodar's head. "Wait, how can this sort of thing just go unnoticed?"

Amodar looked over his shoulder to smirk at her. "Unless you have a certain sort of watch, you can't even _notice_ it." As he turned back, a laugh rumbled within his chest. "The seer created several watches imbued with her own essence, and with those, she was able to _enter_ those little extra parts of the day."

Hope mumbled under his breath. "I think I _did_ hear about this in school..."

Amodar clapped his hands together. "Good boy! Nice to see someone paying attention, even if the Sanctum would rather force-feed crap than life skills..." He cleared his throat again. "Okay, that's the general gist of it; get a watch like _that_, and you can escape time itself for a while to get the edge on _anyone_."

Serah frowned. "Well... How do we stop someone like that?"

Amodar looked back with a smile. "You get the edge on _them_, first."

* * *

><p>A set of polished boots stepped down against the slick, mossy surface, treading just above a wide, rushing stream. "They will have probably settled beside a source of water..." The man traced the point of his gun beside a fallen log. "Check <em>every<em> crevice."

"Sir!" The line of soldiers offered him a quick, simple salute, before they each moved out into pairs to fan over the dark, tangled clearing, weapons raised.

"You _honestly_ think that they're still alive?" A lower voice spoke up from beside the armored leader, donned in a cloak. "At best, we're just going to find their remains... Perhaps a straggler or two, but the monsters would have picked most of them off just outside of the walls."

The armored figure narrowed his eyes at the stream. "You don't _know_ these people." He kept his finger just beside the trigger of his sharp, silvery firearm. "Chances are, with a leader like that-" A twig snapped, and he whirled around, keeping his gunblade at the ready. "We aren't alone."

The robed individual chuckled. "You're chasing _ghosts_, Rosch-" He suddenly choked, twitching in place, but before he could even reach up to grasp at his own throat, a large, snarling beast knocked him to the ground, ripping deep into the back of his neck.

Rosch quirked a single, silver eyebrow. "Ghosts indeed." He stared down at the crouched, slavering wolf, aiming his gunblade directly between its dark blue eyes. "How _wonderful_ to see you again..." With a short hiss, Rosch ducked to the side as a large, dark creature came barreling forth, landing just beside its lighter fellow with a sharp roar.

"One, then two..." Rosch glanced out from the corner of his gaze to see several splayed, fallen bodies scattered out across the forest floor, a broken spine donning each of their necks. "But where could your _master_ be?"

"Yaag Rosch..." A tall figure whistled down from his perch within the trees. "You're in _our_ forest."

Yaag turned, staring up at the shadowed sight, but he kept his gunblade fixed upon the wolves below. "Interesting _fact_ about familiars..."

Stiria snarled at him, while Nix's tail rose up with a low, yet deafening bark.

"I wonder, would killing just _one_ of the pair take down the master as well? Or would you need to put down the second, as well?"

Snow slowly moved out from within the branches, wings held out at his sides. "As a favor to my friends..." He smirked down at Yaag. "You have _ten_ seconds to run."

"Do I?" Yaag kept part of his gaze on the wolves, allowing the rest upon the perched man above. "Which 'friends' would you be speaking of?" He narrowed his eyes with a hiss. "You steal our very _home_, keep our _one_ salvation hidden away, and you call this a _favor?!_"

Snow shrugged. "Seven, six... Five." He winked at the man below. "And it's not a favor to _you_."

With a muffled string of curses, Yaag darted off into the undergrowth.

Snow watched him leave. "_Easy_..." He whispered down at the wolves, before he dropped down to the forest floor himself. "He's still got two seconds."

Nix soon let out a baying howl, before she tore off after the scent with Stiria at her side.

Snow chuckled in their wake. "Have fun."

* * *

><p>With his nose to the ground, Mog trotted about the small, cluttered office, tracking the unusual remnants of an aura that lingered just within the area.<p>

"Got a good whiff, there?" Amodar grinned down at Mog. "We'll catch him yet..."

Mog looked around, twitching his nose back and forth. "Yeah..." He suddenly tensed up with a tiny growl. "Yeah!"

Serah smiled at him. "Good, lead the way, boy!"

Mog quickly raced out from the room, passing directly beneath the loitering group that milled about the bar.

"Up and at 'em, ladies and gents!" Amodar barreled out from his office with a shout. "Hunt's on!"

Lightning immediately leapt to her feet, falling in beside Serah. "We'll use a more stealthy approach once he's in sight, I take it?!"

Amodar called back at her from within the street. "You got it, kiddo!"

With Serah, Hope, and Sazh at her side, Lightning waved over at Fang and Vanille as she burst out from the double doors. "We're off, can you guys keep up?!"

Vanille waved at them. "Sure, just lead the way!"

Catching the helmet that Fang had tossed him, Hope buckled the strap beneath his neck, before he swung up to sit behind Vanille. "Ready!"

Fang grinned.

With his nose to the ground, Mog tore off down the city streets, inhaling the strange, elusive aura with each and every breath he took. "Chase?!"

Serah nodded. "Go, Mog,_ go!_"

Mog looked up with a positively joyous expression on his face. "Bark, _bark!_"

Sazh let out a laugh. "Just keep on him, boy!"

Street after street, corner after corner, Mog kept on tirelessly, until the aura trail had become so strong that he couldn't quite tell exactly where it was originating from, so he quickly lowered to a crouch, wagging his tail.

"Close..." Mog began to whisper as he crawled along. "Shh."

Serah nodded at him with a whisper of her own. "We'll take it from here." She glanced up at the winding alleyways, before she signaled at the group behind her. "Fan out... Let's try to corner him as best we can."

Lightning quickly donned an illusive cloak of magic, slipping out into one of the adjacent alleys.

With a nod, Sazh took the opposite path, which left both Serah, Mog and Amodar to stand in the center.

"Okay..." Amodar peered around at the darkened path. "Let's get moving."

Serah crept along with Mog just by her side, but she soon moved to keep herself close to the rough, darkened walls, pressed up just within the shadows. "Mog, you still got it?"

"Yeah..." Mog struggled to keep own his voice to a whisper as they turned the corner. "Oh, look, look!"

Serah's eyes went wide at the sight before her. "Good boy..." A small, sliver pocket-watch rested just within the center of the alley. "Is that..?"

Amodar strode forward with a grunt. "Damn... All _that_ just for-" Slowly, his voice began to distort, and Serah narrowed her eyes, before she walked out beside him.

Serah waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, are you..?"

"Serah!" Lightning jumped out from seemingly _nowhere_ with her gunblade drawn, barely deflecting a sudden, whistling blade from striking down upon her sister, but as her own sword clashed off against the slim, golden weapon, it seemed as if time itself had crawled to a halt, and she soon lay frozen within mid-deflect.

"Light!?" Serah slowly moved out from behind her, noticing that Sazh had also fallen still from his vantage point above, before she looked down upon Amodar; the man stood petrified, utterly fixed in place, while his hand still reached down for the fallen, shimmering watch.

"Light!? What's happening?" Serah reached up to grab the hovering blade, tearing it far away from her sister's motionless figure. "Light..?"

"She can't hear you."

Serah spun in place, but she soon found that she could see nothing but the gray, stagnant world around her. "Who's... Who's talking? Where... _What_ happened to everyone?!"

"Funny thing about time..." The voice was low, somewhat yet youthful. "When you learn the way that little watch works, it all becomes so easy..." A shadowy form flickered out from one corner of the alley, but as Serah hurried to face it, a second hovered just at her side. "But why are _you_ immune?"

Mog snarled beside Serah's feet. "_Chase_..."

After a long, silent moment, a short, yet somewhat lithe figure walked out from the shadows. "Another fallen? No... You're a _Seraphim_."

Serah quickly let out a shout, silently willing for Mog to take on his bow shape, but as she reached for an arrow from the quiver that materialized beside him, she found that her own skull started to blister and pound, and she nearly fell down to the floor, dropping just to her knees.

"Not immune to _magic_, then..." The man walked beside her to snatch up the silver watch. "Nor traps."

"What..?!" Serah could barely hiss as her very mind seemed to burn, but she soon grit her teeth, clutching at the handle of her bow. "Who _are_ you..? What did you do to them?!"

"I suppose you could call me Noel... Not like it matters." He strolled to the side, holding the watch in his hand. "And _I_ didn't do anything to them, the watch did..." Noel narrowed his eyes at the tiny device. "But this is using up precious time that _should_ be saved for the thirteenth hour..." Noel moved to retrieve his sword from the ground. "Listen... If you don't want to suffer anything worse than this, _don't_ follow me."

Serah nearly began to screech beneath the throbbing, constant pain, but there was something about the utter _arrogance_ in his words that set her fury on full throttle, so with a ragged, almost teary cry, she wound back her arm, quickly loosing a swift, _burning_ arrow directly at her target.

"_What..?!_"

The world seemed to shift, and after a brief, silent moment, Lightning's arm flew forward, and she nearly stumbled off against a strike that she was unable to parry. "What..? _Serah!_"

Serah looked up from where she had fallen to her knees, still gripping at her bow with a quiet, distant look. "Light..." She scrambled back to her feet, before her gaze caught on the steady trail of blood leading away from the area. "Light, he did _something_ with-!"

"I'm on him!" Sazh called out from above. "Get your butts in gear, people!"

Without another word, Lightning ran off into the alleyway, holding her gunblade at the ready with Amodar by her side.

"Guys..?" Serah glanced around at the alleyway, now motionless once again, before she set down her bow with a sigh. "Mog?"

Mog reappeared in his taller, more monstrous form. "Chase?"

Serah slowly began to smirk. "Go get 'em."


	8. Watchdog

Circling around the outer block, Fang narrowed her eyes a nearby alleyway as they sped past the entrance itself, before she shook her head, leaning forward. "Any sight of them?!"

Vanille glanced around at the area. "Not yet..." She suddenly caught sight of a lean, running figure, who tore off down the sidewalk despite the slight limp in his stride. "Fang, look!"

Hope peered over as well. "That's... He's got an _aura!_ I'd bet that's-"

Sazh suddenly dropped down from a nearby rooftop, before he took off as well. "Fang, cut him off!"

With a nod, Fang urged the motorcycle down to skim just beside the sidewalk, grimacing at the pedestrians that ran off in shock from both her vehicular advance, as well as the young man who pushed his way down through the crowd.

"Oi!" Fang narrowed her eyes, gazing along the various parked cars that lay between her and the sidewalk. "I can't get too close, Sazh!"

Sazh nodded in mid-leap. "Get ahead of us if you have to!"

Fang nodded back at him as she sped off down the street, but when she glanced up to tell what area they had driven into, as well as in which direction they were heading, a wave of realization rushed into her thoughts with a silent gasp. "This _might_ take us down to the outskirts..."

Hope spoke up, before he began to shout over the rumbling motorcycle. "What's that going to mean?!"

Fang shook her head. "Abandoned buildings, empty streets... We might just have a fight on our hands!" She glanced back at the sound of distant sirens. "Hold on, kids!"

Vanille tightened her grip with a nod. "Hope, I have an idea!"

Hope looked back over his shoulder as a rush of air crossed their path, and he smiled when a translucent form flickered above them for a brief moment. "What's the idea?!"

Vanille grinned. "Think you could help us with the steering?! Get out one of your wings at this turn; I don't see anyone up there to see it!"

Fang leaned forward. "Right wing, if you don't mind..."

Hope grit his teeth, before he slowly began to nod. "Alright." He inhaled, rising up sightly to grip along Vanille's shoulders. "If this _doesn't_ work..."

Vanille reached up to hold at his wrists. "I've got you!"

After a moment, Hope smiled. "Okay... Here we _go!_"

Fang swept herself to the side, and as the motorcycle leaned out into the turn, Hope let his right wing flare off, catching the air current to keep them gently aloft; while the tips of his longest feathers almost touched the ground as they turned, with a quick, shaky flap, he sent them all upright once again.

Fang let out a long, musical laugh. "Pretty _damn_ good!"

Hope quickly tucked his wing away, barely restraining his own voice from a shout in the post-exhilaration and _sheer_, roaring adrenaline, but after a moment of keeping himself stark still, he began to laugh along with them. "_Man_, that was..."

"Amazing!" Vanille gripped at his wrists with a cheer. "Look up there!"

Hope glanced over at the short, yet sprawling buildings that lay around them, noting both the lack of care and polish that the previous neighborhood had shown. "At what, in particular?"

Vanille pointed at a nearby building, and with a giggle, she began to wave her arm back and forth. "Looks like Serah's gonna catch up with us!"

A white, furry blur soon jumped down towards the street below, while a solitary rider leaned forward with the leap, clutching to the neck of the massive beast beneath her. "Hey! Are you guys following him?"

Fang shook her head, before she leaned to the side, and Hope repeated the gesture with his wing to sharpen their turn, which sent them back to drive alongside a sprinting, bestial Mog.

"If we circle around, we can trap him at the junction!" Fang pointed at the area ahead. "Your_ teddy-bear_ there can knock him down while we cut him off from the other street... Sazh should still be chasing him from the rear, and who _knows_ where the others are!"

Serah urged Mog forward with a shout, and the massive beast opened his mouth to let out a roar, barreling down the street.

"Alright..." Fang narrowed her eyes as a lone figure ran out from where they had first turned, and her eyes went wide at the feathery, brightened streaks of blue that appeared within a set of flared, black wings. "Flashy one, isn't he..?"

Serah hissed under her breath. "Too flashy." She gently tugged at Mog's fur, to which he rose up onto his hind legs, leaping out just as they came within striking distance.

"Oi, buddy!" Fang smirked at the flying figure, still clutching the watch in his hand. "You've got something _fancy_ there, eh?"

Noel grit his teeth when the motorcycle dipped onto the adjacent road beneath him, while a set of snarling jaws rushed out from his side, not to mention the trio of unearthly beings that approached from the rear, so with a silent, yet sharp breath, he let himself drop backwards, while the silver, shimmering watch almost seemed to hover in place, until the chain beside it caught back against his fingertip.

Squealing treads of rubber quieted against the darkened asphalt; each tire rotated, gradually slowing in place until the world itself fell completely, _utterly_ silent.

A pair of individuals had been immediately transfixed as well, and while they seemed to be running in place, their bodies remained motionless upon the sidewalk.

Twin pair of white, frozen wings hovered in midair; a gleaming sword was held high above each strand of pink, static hair, and yet the woman below could not move a single muscle.

Noel hit the ground with a grunt, rolling just out of reach of a set of snarling jaws. "Damn it!" He unsheathed his sword, wincing as he ducked to the side. "Hey, _just_-" Noel choked on his own words when the wound in his side spasmed, burning away within his muscles, and he soon stumbled, falling to his knees. "_Stop_, for the love of-"

Serah pulled back at Mog's neck, before she dropped down to her feet, bow at the ready. "Hey, _you_ attacked _us_ first!"

Noel moved to clutch at his side, but he kept his sword held high. "_You_ were tracking me!"

Serah's mouth nearly fell open at his insinuation, before she huffed, notching an arrow. "You stole something from our friend!"

Suddenly, Noel smirked. "_My_ friend _made_ this watch..." He kept the device against the handle of his sword, dangling just beneath the golden blade. "She _needs_ my help, and I just need it for long enough to get her _out_ of there!"

Serah narrowed her eyes. "Out of where?"

Noel grimaced at the pain in his side. "The thirteenth hour."

Serah paused, before she slowly began to walk forward, scoping out his wound from the corner of her eye. "Why didn't you just _ask_, then? If you needed it to save a friend..."

Noel spat at the ground. "Yeah, just walk up and _ask_ the _biggest_ group of fallen on this side of Gran Pulse..." He groaned after a moment, clutching at the blooded mass of fabric at his waist. "I know them _too_ well; they'd never trust something that powerful to a Seraph!"

Serah frowned. "You're... You're gonna bleed out."

Noel nearly laughed. "Yeah, funny _thing_ about arrows..." He glanced up at her bow, which was fitted with a tiny, golden watch by the grip. "You've... You've got one, too?"

Serah kept her gaze on his wound. "My sister has medical equipment..."

Noel bit back a hiss. "Yeah, the one up there? Well, _she_ doesn't look too happy with me either..." He finally let out a gasping, yet wry chuckle. "Well, are you gonna _shoot_ me again, or not?! This is just wasting up the time that I need for saving her."

Serah's fingers tightened along her bow. "If you give that back to Amodar, I'll see if Mog can help out your friend."

Noel's face twitched, before he narrowed his eyes, gazing at her expression. "For a _stranger?_ One that attacked you first?"

Serah took a tiny step forward. "Well, we _were_ tracking you..." She slowly placed the arrow back into her quiver, before she began to hold up her hands. "I'm willing to trust you, _if_ you give us back the watch."

Noel grimaced, and he sat in silence for a moment, before he let out a ragged sigh, lowering his sword. "This spell will last about a minute longer... Your friends aren't going to be too happy if you just let me walk out of here."

Serah nodded as she slowly reached out, taking the watch from his hand. "Then stay behind me."

Noel's eyes went wide. "But, if-?"

Serah shook her head. "I'll be okay... Just don't look aggressive, alright?" She knelt down to look at his wound, frowning at the steady flow of blood that trickled down from his side. "Put some pressure on it."

Noel snorted as Serah began to pull at his jacket sleeve. "Turn of events, huh?" He shrugged it off with a sigh.

Serah quickly folded up the coat in her hands, before she moved to press it down against the stream of blood. "I've seen weirder." She soon set the watch down against the pavement, to which Mog reappeared in his smaller form, poking at it with his nose.

"One hell of a moogle you have, there..." Noel tried to stifle the cough in his chest, but he quickly began to wheeze, simultaneously reaching down to help Serah press against the wound. "And one _hell_ of a shot."

Serah would have grinned, if only her fingers hadn't been being steadily coated in a thick, growing red. "Just hang on, okay?" She increased the pressure with her hands. "It should start to clot soon, and we won't even have to worry about getting the arrow out."

Noel nodded, slowly teetering off to the side. "Ah." He let his eyes fall shut. "Alright..."

"Hey!" Serah nearly gasped as the area around them seemed to shift, but when she reached out to grab the collar of Noel's shirt, a burst of movement erupted all around them with a blur of sound and color, while his black, shivering wings crumpled down against the pavement. "_Noel!_"

A length of steel whistled down through the air, before a pair of boots slammed back to the ground below, while a motorcycle rumbled from the side, drifting off into the distance, which allowed two separate sets of footsteps to be heard from just a short distance away.

"Serah?" Lightning kept her gunblade pointed directly at the unconscious figure, but her gaze slid over to peer at the silver watch in Mog's mouth, before she looked back at the black wings splayed out against the pavement. "So, he _is_ a Seraphim..."

Serah whirled around to face her sister, still applying pressure with her hands. "Light, he's gonna bleed _out!_" She looked back at the reddened cloth, pressing it down with a quiet shiver.

"We... We were- He stopped _time_ itself to explain it to me, but we can't say the same!"

Within mere seconds, Lightning knelt down beside them. "I didn't even _see_ when you hit him..." She unzipped her jacket pocket with a quiet sigh, before she shook her head at the flowing blood below. "I'll have to cauterize it."

Serah stared down at the seeping jacket. "Okay, what can I do?"

Lightning quickly held up her right hand, focusing upon the swirling energy within her fingertips. "Move the jacket and his shirt when I say so... You definitely hit an artery."

Serah almost frowned, but she nodded instead, clenching her jaw with a deep breath. "On three?"

Lightning nodded back.

At that moment, Fang rolled up beside them, slowing the motorcycle to a halt. "Hey... What's-?"

Serah shook her head. "Not now! Three..."

Lightning narrowed her eyes, watching as a tiny flame began to envelop both her index finger and her thumb. "Two."

Serah fought back a shiver. "One..." She pulled back the jacket and Noel's shirt just as Lightning moved forward with her hand, pressing down into the red, trickling flow.

Sazh grimaced from where he had walked up to stand beside them, yet Amodar merely raised a single eyebrow at the procedure.

"Alright." Lightning moved her fingers within the wound, before her eyebrows quirked, and she nodded. "_Definitely_ an artery... Let's just be glad that he seems out of it." She winced as something gurgled from within the wound, before she inhaled, dragging her hand back out to stare at the thick, charred blood upon her fingertips. "No screaming, good."

Serah reached over to press her index finger against the side of Noel's neck. "Still a pulse..."

Lightning looked up at the sound of sirens. "He has his wings out." She glanced back at Noel's unconscious form. "Even a thief..."

Serah nodded. "We need to get him somewhere safe!"

Amodar cleared his throat from beside them. "Well, as long as you keep a good eye on the bastard..." He began to twirl the silvery watch at its chain, gazing down along the tiny engravings inlaid along the back. "But if he makes any sudden moves, I'm not promising that _I_ won't have a few choice actions to go along with that _hole_ in his gut..."

Mog walked up beside Serah, wagging his tail. "Good?"

Serah reached over to pat at his head. "Yes, good, but we need to move... Can you carry him, please?"

With a quick shimmer of magic, Mog reappeared in his larger form. "Carry..." He knelt down to gently pick Noel up into his arms, before he rose back onto his hind legs with a nod. "Where?"

Serah gently tugged at Mog's fur. "These buildings, they look..."

Fang spoke up from her motorcycle. "Abandoned, yeah." She narrowed her eyes at the distant flicker of blue and red lights, before she quietly chuckled. "The cops will probably think this was a scuffle between gangs, nothing more... But yeah, we'd better move." Fang glanced back to make sure that both Vanille and Hope were sitting down behind her, before she eased the vehicle forward with a nod. "I'll try to find us somewhere empty."

Serah reached up to guide Mog forward, simultaneously casting a short-distance illusory spell over them both, before she stretched out the magical guise to cover both Lightning and Sazh as well. "Wait, where's Amodar..?" Serah shook her head after a moment. "Just follow me, Mog."

As he followed after her, Mog looked from side to side, gazing down at both Sazh and Lightning, who had since moved up to walk beside him. "Bark."

Sazh chuckled. "Nah, you look more like a _bear_, now." He patted at Mog's back. "Bears go 'roar'..."

Mog glanced down at Noel. "Roar."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "We'll need to disinfect it, once we get there..." She walked in silence for a moment, before a car rolled up at her side. "Hey, where'd you..?"

Amodar waved at her from the passenger's seat. "Hey! Get him in the back; we'll have better equipment over at the bar." He sat beside another individual, one that Lightning didn't recognize, but even then, she was able to discern an aura similar to Amodar's own.

"Really?" Lightning glanced over at Noel. "Even when he stole from you?"

Amodar shrugged. "Hey now, why can't _I_ be a do-gooder too?" He chuckled at Lightning's expression. "You've gotta lighten up, 'soldier'..." Amodar smiled, twirling the watch between his fingers. "I wouldn't really give a crap about this _piece_ of junk if it wasn't so easily abused."

With a quiet laugh, Serah pointed at the car. "Mog, set him down in the back."

Mog walked over to the door, to which Sazh opened it up, before Noel was gently placed down against the seats.

"Follow?" Mog reappeared in his smaller form, jumping up to sit beside Noel's chest, stepping over his wings. "Safe."

Serah nodded at him. "Okay, we'll meet up with you soon." She leaned away as Sazh closed the door, before she waved down at Mog with a tiny smile.

From behind the glass, Mog tried to raise one of his front legs to wave back, but the car had already rumbled away by the time he had managed to balance himself.

"We have company." Lightning pointed at the swarm of police cars that had moved out to circle the area, but they mostly seemed to focus around the immediate area of bloodshed, completely unaware of the three, invisible figures that peered over at them from just a short ways down the road.

"Hmm." Sazh leaned aside with a low chuckle. "Haven't had this much excitement in years."

Slowly, Lightning began turn away. "We should find Fang and the others before she starts to drive back here..."

As she moved to follow Lightning, Serah glanced down at her hands, before her mouth twitched back into a frown. "He was... Noel, he stopped _time_ with that thing." She let her fingers curl against her palms, sticky with blood. "At first, he cast some sort of pain spell on me, and I just got so... So _mad _that I went and... I _shot_ him for it."

Lightning turned back, before she reached over to wrap her arm around Serah's shoulders. "Hey." She waited until Serah had met her gaze. "_He_ struck first, so don't get too worked up over it."

Serah let her hands fall to her sides, before she sighed, nodding to herself. "Okay. I'll try not to."

Sazh spoke up with a low whisper. "Not to interrupt, but..."

Lightning glanced over at the growing throng of police. "Yeah, let's move." She looked down to make sure that Serah's makeshift-spell was still covering them all, before she made a running leap to flap out into the air.

Serah jumped off beside her, while Sazh turned back to take one last look at the gathering crowd, before he flew off as well.

* * *

><p>With a quiet, lingering rustle, a dark shape crept out along the forest floor, nose to the ground as she tracked the thin, chosen scent.<p>

"Hey, anything close?" Snow kept his voice as low as he could, walking just beside the pair of wolves. "If there are any sentry devices nearby, I'd like to take them out first."

Nix stared up at the towering trees, while her ears swiveled back and forth beneath the wind. "I smell smoke."

Snow frowned. "Wood-smoke?"

Nix shook her head, and her gray fur prickled up along her neck. "Worse." She lowered her head, keeping close watch of the forest around them. "Metal... Machines."

Snow soon lowered himself beneath a tangle of branches, before he paused, kneeling down to trace his fingertips beside a wide set of tracks. "That'd be our sentries..." He grit his teeth. "We can scare people off, but _these_ things..."

Stiria lifted her head, sniffing at the air. "Too many."

With a sigh, Snow nodded. "I'd have to agree." He let his fingers tighten into a fist. "You know, if we didn't have so much to lose..."

Nix wagged her tail at him. "Family!"

Snow bit back a chuckle. "I can't come back to Serah in _pieces_, can I..? And Lightning might just try to rip them into even _smaller_ bits..." He rose up to his feet. "When they get back, I'll let them know... Then we might be able to do more about it."

Stiria moved to nudge at his hand. "Home?"

Snow nodded. "Yeah..." He walked over to a nearby tree, before he leaned against it, peering down at the forested valley below. "Let's sweep the border one last time, just to be safe."

The wolves took off without another word, while Snow stood in silence for a moment, gazing down at the rustling woods. "I'll keep it safe, Light." He turned to face the side of the forest that tapered off into plains, and eventually into mountainous ridges. "I'll keep all of it safe."

* * *

><p>Staring at the sight before her, Fang briefly pondered the possibility that she might have gone <em>completely<em> mad, but when she compared the previous events of that day with a quiet trip to the movies, she quickly found that the currents events were somehow much more favorable.

"So, you took the damn thing to save your _girlfriend?_" After a moment, Amodar let out a long laugh. "Son, you could've just asked..."

Noel winced, and he bit back a shout as Lightning applied a cold, stinging liquid into his wound. "Well, my... _Previous_ encounters with fallen Seraphim haven't been so-" He grit his teeth as the burning sensation seared off with just a thin trickle of blood. "Not so _friendly_, let's say."

Lightning rolled her eyes at him. "Quit fussing." She moved to swipe a bit of gauze around the wound. "And you'd better have a _good_ excuse for chucking a sword at my sister."

Noel glanced at Serah. "_She_ looked pretty determined to chuck something at _me_." He tried to gesture at the arrow wound, but Lightning quickly slapped his hand away.

"Well, what can I say?" Noel leaned back against the counter, shaking his head. "A determined looking lady walks up to me with _clearly_ ill intent, and a guy gets kinda nervous!"

Serah merely grinned as she petted behind Mog's ears.

"Alright, enough squabbling." Amodar glanced between them both. "So how _did_ your friend get stuck in there in the first place? From what I know about the thirteenth hour-"

Noel shook his head. "She's a seer."

Amodar's lip twitched, and he began to lower his voice. "Son, if that's the case..."

With a hiss, Noel kept shaking his head. "No! If _I_ have a way to get in myself, I can help _her_ out..." He grit his teeth, nearly shivering as Lightning prepared to stitch the wound.

"You're not going _anywhere_ with this." Lightning narrowed her eyes at the reddened skin. "Run around or fly with this, and it'll tear right open again..." She eased the needled down and out through his skin, ignoring the resulting hiss of protest. "Hey, _quiet__!_ I can't really get you an anesthetic, now can I?"

Noel forced his eyes to fall shut, gripping at the counter behind him. "If you bribed an actual _doctor_, maybe-" He closed his mouth, nearly trembling in pain. "Fine, just _hurry_."

"She's right, though..." Sazh leaned over to examine the wound. "No way you're running around with that just yet."

Noel frowned through the pain. "But, she's-"

"I'll go in." Serah slowly rose to her feet. "If I'm not affected by whatever you did to stop time-"

"Serah." Lightning shook her head as she stitched. "We don't know anything _about_ this..."

Serah took a step forward. "But, I could-"

"I won't let you walk into something that could _backfire_." Lightning narrowed her eyes. "Not unless you had backup..."

From his seat beside them, Amodar twirled the silver contraption in his hand. "You'd need a certain type of watch."

Serah glanced down at the silent, golden clock at Mog's collar. "Light, if we went in _together_..."

Lightning took a moment to look over at Mog, and then off to the watch at Amodar's fingertips. "Well, he'd owe us one hell of a favor..." She tied off the stitching with a grunt. "Think you can handle that, twitchy?"

Noel nearly glared at her. "Hey, _you_ try getting shot with an-!" He nearly doubled-over when she smacked the skin beside his wound, having already been closed off against infection.

"Give it a while, and it'll heal up nicely." Lightning nodded at the stitches. "I've patched up over a hundred arrow wounds; this one is no different."

"Man..." Noel rubbed at his side. "You don't give a guy a break, huh?"

Fang let out a chuckle from where she was leaning back in her chair. "My kind of woman."

Lightning rose to her feet. "You'll have plenty of time for a _break_ while we get your girlfriend back."

Noel flushed a bit. "She's not... _Exactly_-"

Lightning turned away from the bar to face the assorted tables, leaning back against the counter-top. "So when does this 'thirteenth hour' start? I'd assume just after the twelfth..."

With a nod, Amodar tossed her the watch. "You'll have some time to get ready... Take as much as you need in here; I owe you that much."

Lightning caught the device in her hand, and she soon looked down to examine the engraving along the back.

Amodar stood up with a sigh. "Well, if I'm going to be fixing that gizmo for our little friend, I've got some things to look at..."

Mog wagged his tail. "Thank you!"

Amodar chuckled at him. "No, thank _you_ for chasing down our culprit..." He moved to ruffle Noel's hair. "Even if he _is_ more than a bit misguided."

Noel grimaced at the touch, before he let out a quiet sigh, staring up at Amodar. "Hey, if I had seen another alternative beforehand..."

Amodar shook his head. "Just apologize and I'll call it even."

Noel lowered his gaze, before he looked back up at Amodar. "I'm sorry."

After a moment of silence, Amodar cracked a wide grin. "No problem, son! You can _start_ with clearing off those tables."

As Amodar walked off into the back, Noel attempted to rise up from his seat, but when the stitching protested at his side, he sank back down with a hiss. "Wait, I thought we were _even!_"

Amodar waved at him. "Those stitches aren't going to pay for themselves... And you'll just have to ask if Lightning's willing to let you off the hook for that disinfectant."

With a grimace, Noel glanced over at Lightning. "You won't..?"

Lightning shrugged. "Like I said, one _hell_ of a favor." She walked away without another word, and she soon sat down beside Serah, before they shared a somewhat humorous glance.

"So..." Vanille broke the silence with a giggle. "What're we going to do in the meantime?"

"Pray that the cops don't catch up with us?" Fang ran hand through her hair, shaking her head back and forth. "That was... A dumber move than I'd anticipated."

Serah turned to face her. "How can we help? I don't want to see you get in trouble for this..."

Fang shrugged. "Unless someone got the license plate number, we'll be fine..." She chuckled a bit. "At worst, I get a speeding ticket... Maybe one for disturbing the peace."

Noel spoke up with a low mumble. "Will I have to pay _that_ off, too?"

Fang winked at him. "You know it, bud."

"Guys?" Hope glanced around at the group. "If he was just trying to help out his friend..."

"Then he _should've_ been more diplomatic." Sazh leaned back against a nearby wall, scratching at the side of his chin. "But I agree, let's lay off with the lectures."

Noel attempted to stand up again, but the pain at his side kept him down upon the bar-stool. "Well, I'll try to make up for it... Maybe there's something I can teach you guys for your trouble." He looked over at Hope. "Hey, do you know how to cast any sort of pain spell? It could ward off anyone that tried to pick on you."

Hope shook his head. "I haven't tried a whole lot of magic... It always seems to be more trouble that it's worth."

Noel merely grinned. "A friend of mine taught me this one; you just have to focus on the mental half." He waved for Hope to sit beside him. "The physical bits are almost non-existent, so it's an easy one."

Vanille stood up as well. "Could you maybe... Try to teach me, too?"

Noel squinted to examine her aura, before he nodded.

Lightning rose up after a moment, walking over to stand beside where Sazh had moved to, while the rest of their companions began to converse. "Hey."

Sazh smiled at her. "Hey, Light."

Lightning leaned back as well, before she turned slightly, glancing at him from the corner of her gaze. "I've been wondering why you didn't tell me about them... Fang and Vanille."

Sazh let out a quiet sigh. "They're like _family_, Light." He reached up to scratch at his head. "You were all worked up and determined to go confront _Bhunivelze_, of all things, and..." Sazh took a deep breath. "If Fang and Vanille were going to try and help you out, I wanted it to be on their own terms."

After a moment of thought, Lightning nodded. "Hey, did the Watcher know?"

Sazh chuckled. "I don't think there's much of anything the old bastard _doesn't_ know..." His eyes widened slightly as a sparkling bit of magic materialized within Vanille's hands. "I talk to him once in a while about the extended family, you know... Just to keep him updated."

"You _are_ like family, aren't you?" Lightning thought back to the way Vanille had hopped up to hug her the previous night, and even while Fang had gazed on from afar, she had done so with a look bordering on gentle. "They're... Very kind people."

Sazh nodded. "As they should be!" He glanced over at Fang, who was staring down at the glow within Vanille's grasp. "Fang's been a good sister to her... We've made sure that they have enough to get by with."

"It shows." Lightning almost smiled when the spell intensified, causing Vanille's fingers to twitch. "They bought me some clothes and food, without me even asking... I want to give them something back if I can."

With a hum, Sazh tapped at his chin. "Well, Fang's tough... Real tough." He shook his head, chuckling quietly. "Maybe even tougher than _you_ if she ever gets a hold of that aura... Teach her some swordplay, and she'll _definitely_ thank you for it."

Lightning quirked an eyebrow at him. "Swordplay? I thought that on Earth-"

Sazh shook his head. "For their _heritage_, Light... They deserve to know where they come from." He glanced to the side, gently tapping the toe of his shoe against the floor. "I mean, Chocolina did ask me to keep quiet until they were ready, but now that _those_ beans are fully spilled..."

Lightning nodded after a moment. "I'll do my best." She stilled for a while, content to watch as Vanille wove the glimmering magic between her fingers, while her eyes came alight with both wonder and fear. "She's a natural."

Sazh bit at his bottom lip. "There goes their apartment if she learns a fire spell..."

Lightning nearly laughed, before she pushed off from the wall, slowly walking back into the tabled area. "How's the lesson going?"

Fang called out from her seat at the bar. "Little sis is a natural! _Look_ at that damn glow..."

Vanille shoulders began to tremble slightly, but she kept the magic contained, hovering just around her hands. "It's certainly... Tingly"

Noel leaned over to examine the wavering spell. "Hold it, now... Try to keep it there for as long as you can, without losing your grip."

Vanille nodded with her brow knit in concentration. "Hey, Hope? How's yours doing?"

Hope had his eyes shut, hands hovering above his lap. "I'm not sure." He kept his legs folded over the bar-stool, leaning back against the counter-top. "It feels like you said, though... Tingly."

Vanille nearly laughed, but the swirling energy at her hands crackled once, before it began to fade away with merely a whisper.

"Hey, good attempt!" Noel tapped at the counter with his fingers. "Keep working on that, alright? That sort of spell took me _days_ to learn when I was a kid."

"Okay." Vanille looked over at Hope. "Hey, you're glowing too!"

Slowly, Hope opened his eyes. "Hmm." He squinted to examine the pale wisps of magic that drifted about his fingertips. "Light, can you take a look?"

Lightning walked up beside him. "Try to enhance it." She moved to pull over a nearby chair. "Focus on your aura, and try to draw it out into your hands."

Hope nodded, closing his eyes again. "Alright..." He winced as a slow, gathering light trickled out along his palms. "Like this?"

"Like that." Lightning sat down to look at the magic for a moment, before she looked back up at his face. "Don't overdo it."

Hope attempted to relax. "Sorry." He exhaled, breathing deep. "Is it still there?"

Lightning nearly frowned as the glimmer began to fade. "Not so much, but I think you just need to practice." She looked over at Vanille. "The two of you, though... Better than _most_ wannabe mages I've seen."

Hope opened his eyes with a quiet laugh. "I'll try to keep practicing." He looked down at his arm. "I can probably still keep up the sparring lessons, though, so that'll take most of my energy."

"Sparring?" Fang looked Hope over with her eyebrows raised. "A little squirt like you can already _spar?_"

Hope nodded. "Light's been teaching me..." He met Fang's gaze. "And I'm seven hundred and eighty-two! Of _course_ I can spar."

Both Fang and Vanille shared an immediate glance.

"What?" Hope slowly looked between them. "Are you guys..?"

Serah spoke up from her seat at a nearby table. "Maybe they have different rates of aging?"

Fang pinched at the bridge of her nose. "You guys _really_ aren't kidding, are you?" She shook her head. "You look about as old as Vanille, honestly."

Hope shrugged. "Well, I do know that asking a girl's age isn't..." He trailed off with a quiet laugh.

"Smart kid!" Noel smiled at him. "Nope, most girls don't quite care for that." He glanced at his wound with a wince. "I don't need _any_ more bruises, thank you very much."

Vanille rolled her eyes at them both. "Who cares, really? It's just a number..."

Noel shook his head. "If I know anything from _my_ time with ladies-"

Serah let out a laugh. "Don't make me set Mog on you again..."

Lightning closed her eyes at the ensuing squabble, before she opened them to gaze over at Sazh, who at that very moment seemed to share the exact same sentiment as hers.

With a slow shake of his head, Sazh walked over to take a seat beside the group, tuning out the raucous sounds of playful debate with the ease of a wise, experienced father.


	9. Time Flies

"So, what exactly are we going to be seeing in there?" Lightning flipped the watch over in her hands, watching each of the thin, silvery shards that hovered about the device. "Just... Try to start at the beginning, and tell us as much as you can."

Noel nodded. "Alright, the thirteenth hour..." After a moment of thought, he ran a hand through his hair. "But where to even_ start? _It's been _ages_, since-" Noel paused, before he snapped his fingers above his head. "Imagine a dimension that runs parallel to our own... One that only seers can access naturally."

Serah sat up straight in her seat. "Hey, I've heard about that! They hear things from it in dreams, and get visions, too."

Noel smiled a bit. "Exactly... They're linked up with the place on an aural level; it's like a _big_ network of time and prophecy." He crossed his arms after a moment, leaning back. "Yeul... The friend I was talking about, she's a seer."

"Then how do we get her back out?" Lightning began to trace her fingers over the engraving upon the watch. "I'd prefer to know what I'm getting into before we even go in."

"It's like I said, ages ago..." Noel met Lightning's gaze with a frown. "I've been _searching_ for this damn thing ever since it all happened." He took a deep breath. "She... _Technically_, she died."

"'Technically'?" Lightning narrowed her eyes. "You can't bring back the dead."

"Technically..." Noel smirked. "You _can_ bring them back if they're part of a multi-organism thought process comprised of several different active participants."

"Okay, slow down..." Lightning shook her head with a sigh. "She's part of a _what?_"

"Seers can reincarnate..." Noel frowned slightly. "No, reincarnate is the wrong word... Duplicate? Again, it's not ideal." He took a moment to think. "Like a... A mirror image of each other, but they're all connected by the energy within the hour."

"And we just walk in there, and what?" Lightning tapped her fingertips together, furrowing her brow. "Find a living copy of Yeul and ask her nicely if she'd like to follow us out?"

Noel grinned. "Well, that was the plan..." He glanced down at his side. "I mean, _I_ would've been doing this on my own if _someone_ hadn't-"

Serah cleared her throat. "Hey, it's a half-hour 'til noon... Would that work, or do we have to wait until midnight?"

Noel waved at the watch in Lightning's hand. "As long as she's holding it, she'll get tugged in there automatically." He looked back at himself. "I managed to get in for a while last night, but I wasn't able to find Yeul before the hour was up."

"So you don't know for _sure?_" Serah leaned forward in her seat. "How do we even know I'll be able to go in, too?"

Noel glanced at Mog. "He's a familiar, right?"

Serah nodded.

"Then naturally, you'll be linked with all of his strengths..." Noel chuckled at the moogle. "If there was one thing I _did_ see in there, it was moogles."

Lightning pushed the clasp of the silver pocket-watch open, before she started to look down at the steadily ticking pointer. "Well, we'd have about twenty minutes, unless we need to wait for midnight." She slowly closed her eyes. "Is there anything else you can tell us about this place?"

Noel hummed for a moment, gazing down at his feet. "Well, even if it _looks_ creepy as hell... Just keep walking."

Serah frowned a bit. "That's... Real reassuring."

* * *

><p>The wind swept up against a set of wide, concrete walls, while an iron-wrought fence sat in silence before the winding path below.<p>

A lone, limping figure made his way up to the imposing barrier, grasping along at the searing marks upon his arm. "This is Yaag Rosch! Requiring _immediate_-"

The gate swung open with the sound of footsteps. "Commander Rosch!"

Yaag grit his teeth. "Yes, I require immediate medical-" He let out a sigh as an escort party moved out to circle him, leading him forward. "Access to medical supplies will do; it was just a warning strike."

One of the soldiers stared down at his wound. "An animal bite?"

Yaag slowly began to nod. "No ordinary animal, I assure you..." He almost winced at the deep, burning pain within his wrist, before a drop of blood trickled down from his forehead. "Send word to each lieutenant in this sector... Have them ready a fleet of scouting parties at once."

With a nod, half of the party walked off into the building complex, while the remaining few led him toward a small pavilion.

"Dismissed..." Yaag let out a quiet sigh as he gazed upon his wrist. "Was it worth the price, Snow? You could ask your friends the _very_ same question..." With a grimace, he reached up to rummage through a wall-mounted medical cabinet. "Why _cling_ to something, so-" Yaag shook his head. "So... Fleeting."

* * *

><p>"Okay..." Serah hugged Mog a bit tighter to her chest, closing her eyes. "Wish us some luck, guys?"<p>

Both Fang and Vanille spoke out immediately, while Hope, Noel and Sazh began to do the same, before a gentle touch pressed against her shoulder.

"Hey." Lightning sat down beside her. "I'll have your back in there, so don't stress it."

Serah nodded with a tiny frown. "It's just... Before, it was _really_-" Her breath caught as the watch in Lightning's hand ticked forth, before it stopped for a brief, lingering moment, hovering just beside the thirteenth number.

"Serah?" Lightning tightened her grip on the silvery device. "Is this..?"

Serah inhaled, listening to each and every sound as it crumbled, echoing away, before she turned to watch as her friends stilled before her, fading off into a thick, solid gray, until they had fallen completely motionless.

"Yeah..." Serah's eyes suddenly went wide, before she rose to her feet, holding Mog to her chest. "_Vanille?_"

Vanille stared down at Fang's silent form, tinted with the same shade of darkened silver that the rest of the room had taken, and yet, the younger sibling continued to both stand, and _breathe,_ before she turned to face Lightning and Serah.

"Vanille?" Lightning took a step forward. "Why aren't you-?"

Serah spoke with a laugh. "Your dreams!" She began to move forward, walking to stand beside her. "Vanille, your _dreams_..."

Vanille merely stared at herself for a moment, before she shivered, glancing up at the world around her. "We need... We need to move."

Lightning paused in place, gazing at Vanille's expression. "Why?"

Vanille shook her head. "I don't know, but we _need_ to move..." She reached up to brush her fingertips against her forehead. "We don't have a whole lot of time."

Lightning stared at Vanille's face for a brief moment longer, before she began to nod. "Then, we'll move..." She reached out to take one of both Serah and Vanille's hands in her own, slowly leading them down to the entrance of the tavern. "Just tell me where we need to go."

Vanille nodded. "I feel pretty dizzy, but..." She pointed at the open sky, inhaling sharply as they walked out from the darkened room. "_Look!_"

Serah nearly gasped at the sight of each pale, motionless cloud, suspended within the gray, frozen sky. "Everything? It _all_ stopped..."

Lightning squeezed at her hand. "Just for an hour, remember." She glanced over to the side. "Your aura, Vanille..."

Vanille looked down at herself. "I see it..." She blinked once, staring at each strand of orange energy as it tightened and swirled. "We just need to keep walking forward."

Lightning nodded. "I really thought that you were a Seraph, when I first saw you..." She walked out along the sidewalk, weaving in-between each silent pedestrian, suspended in place. "Your aura was that strong."

Vanille kept quiet for a while, until she caught sight of a stationary flock of birds, hovering just beside a man on a bicycle, who stared straight ahead. "It's... It's been all I can think about since then... This sort of stuff, it doesn't _seem_ real, but it feels..." She blinked at a frozen group of people, standing just beside the crosswalk. "It _feels_ so real."

Lightning moved beside each stony figure, leading her friends onward to the street. "I felt the same about Earth, at first." She passed out into a maze of vehicles, but she kept her gaze on the horizon, upon the sidewalk up ahead. "They always said it was a terrible planet, full of people out to kill us... It was pretty hard to learn just how wrong that was."

After a while of walking, Serah looked down at her feet. "Light?"

Lightning led them down to a corner. "Yeah?"

Serah hugged Mog close for a moment, holding him just bit tighter with her free hand. "I'm, um..." She began to chew at her bottom lip. "Was the Sanctum _right_ about anything, though? Do you remember anything they said, near the end..?"

Lightning grit her teeth. "Let's focus on the task at hand, okay?" She blinked twice as a soft, wavering light flickered out from beyond the next corner. "We might just have our answers, soon enough."

Serah kept still until they had reached the source of the trembling glow, before she suddenly began to smile. "Some friends, maybe?"

Mog chirped from beside her arm. "Hello!"

The fluttering group of creatures merely swirled in place, gently illuminating the path before them.

"Looks that way." Lightning reached out to tap at one of the hovering, weightless beings. "Wonder if they can understand us..."

Vanille stepped forward, before she let go of Lightning's hand, holding both of hers up. "They want us to follow them." She closed her eyes to concentrate. "_They_ know where the seers are... They want to see us, too."

"Alright..." Lightning began to nod at the pearly, hovering flock. "Show us the way, then?" As she spoke, Serah's hand dropped from hers, but as Lightning looked back over her shoulder, she found that the sidewalk was gone, crumbling away from beneath their very feet. "Serah?"

Serah looked to the side, and her eyes went wide.

Lightning took a step forward. "What is..?"

A low, yet gentle voice soon echoed out over the gathering shadow. "Be not afraid."

Serah stepped back as she gazed upon the approaching, whispery glow. "Wait, what-?"

"Calm yourselves." The bright figure stood tall, outlined by what seemed to be a set of grand, curling antlers. "We merely wish to speak."

Vanille's eyes went wide. "You..? You're-"

The woman stepped forth, donning a solid, even stance, and yet her eyes were filled with only gentleness, which cast a deep, shining green below her flowing, orange hair. "Little Vanille..." The willowy woman smiled down at her. "It had been long since I foresaw of your birth, and yet it feels as if I've known you many, many lifetimes over."

Vanille stared up at the woman as moisture gathered upon her eyes. "You... You _look_ like, the pictures-"

The woman set her hands on Vanille's shoulders. "Your mother is at rest, now." She blinked once, staring down at what seemed to be a younger version of herself. "She... She was my great-granddaughter, albeit many times over... My name is Hecate."

Lightning's eyes widened slightly, but she kept silent while Hecate continued to speak.

Hecate nodded to herself. "We have been awaiting your arrival for eons, and _yet_... Time becomes somewhat trivial within this dreamlike realm." Hecate tipped her head to the sky, spreading out a pair of wide, pale wings, to which her soft, cream-colored feathers began to rustle. "Child of vision, welcome to our fold."

Vanille could feel the sounds echo back and forth within her mind, as her lungs swelled out with unspoken, unheard words, and yet the only, _single_ phrase she could find was swiftly lost upon her lips, before she leaned forward, hugging the tall, elegant figure.

Another voice rolled out on a whisper, swept along by the wind. "When one gazes upon the whole of time itself..." A second woman soon moved out from the shadows, but her gaze was very distant, as if she couldn't see them at all. "A sacrifice, one to ordain another... It _seems_ so small, at least in the grand scheme of things." After a moment, her dark, blue hair fluttered out at her back. "Oh, Noel... If only you could have seen."

Lightning turned to stare at the diminutive woman, before she took a slow step forward. "Is your name Yeul?"

"Yes." Yeul's pale skin flickered within the shadows. "One of many, however... Each strand is but a trail to the rest." She soon moved to face Lightning. "The one Noel loved has _long_ since laid to rest, and yet... She _thinks_ of him with every passing moment." Yeul paused after a moment, gazing up at Lightning's face. "She does wish to be at his side once more."

Hecate began to speak again, slowly guiding Vanille off to the side. "We mean _not_ to harm our kin, only to manipulate the patterns of time in their favor." She reached out, drawing to life the image of a great, sprawling tree. "You can see each branch, how they will inevitably split off into the next? In a strand where Noel's only option was to _search_..."

Vanille watched as each image flashed before her, gazing along the outline of a young man wracked with grief, who soon began to quarrel with a figure she didn't recognize.

"He searched, and _searched_... Until the time was finally right." Hecate brushed over the lines until two of the branches began to intersect, and another vision flickered forth.

A set of fingers clasped tight around the slumbering, silvery device, until it began to gently glow, drawing forth a steady, beating tick.

"Which in turn, would affect the next..."

A sleek, curving bow sat in near silence upon its partner's back, but as she turned to look out over the village center, the watch inlaid at the handle began to slow, until it had fallen completely silent.

"An individual sacrifice, one to benefit another..." Hecate drew out a winding set of lines, until they began to resemble twin, branching paths. "Such is the way of the _seer_... With each vision, we find ourselves closer to blindness."

Vanille frowned, staring up at Hecate. "Wait, what do you mean?"

Hecate let out a long, whispering sigh. "This is my gift to you..." After reaching into the pocket of her robes, Hecate set down an unusual, folded device into Vanille's hands. "Soul of Hecatoncheir, watch over this daughter of ours... Show her the path."

Vanille looked down at the sleek, weapon-like object, before she shifted her weight, allowing it to flip out into a slender staff, adorned by a curling set of antlers. "What are you talking about, though?" She glanced back up at Hecate, but the woman had already started to turn aside. "Please, don't-!" Vanille bit back a quiet cry. "Don't leave.."

Hecate stood in silence for a moment, before she moved to face Yeul. "When you have finished here, find me with the rest." She slowly began to walk back to Vanille's side, quietly pressing a single, motherly kiss atop her head. "Best of luck, little one."

"Wait, but..." Vanille clutched at the staff in her hands, before she began to sniffle, reaching out to hug the taller figure again. "I don't-"

Hecate shook her head. "Be still, daughter of sight..." She reached up to pat at the back of Vanille's head, slowly glancing over at both Lightning and Serah. "You have friends in this mortal world, lest you lose your way."

After a moment, Lightning took a step forward. "Does the name 'Bhakti' mean anything to you?"

Hecate smiled. "Such a good little friend... Keep him safe for me, would you?" She stared deep into Lightning's eyes. "Tell him... Please tell him that I am truly sorry for what we allowed the Sanctum to do, but there was little option at that point."

Lightning nearly started to question her again, but when she caught the weathered look in Hecate's eyes, one of suppressed, yet unyielding weariness, she began to nod instead. "I will."

"But, _wait_..." Serah looked between them. "What happened back then? Why was the Vestige..?"

Hecate's gaze began to fade, but she remained in place, still embracing Vanille. "We do not have enough time, child of Cocoon." She nodded over at Serah. "Seek your answers as you _should_, but I fear that I am not long for this world."

Vanille shivered, muffling a quiet cry. "She's-"

Hecate nodded. "You see it." She patted at Vanille's shoulder. "Carry on for me, and do not mourn." She soon moved back, and as her tall form stepped to the side, her wings began to lower, resting just beneath her shoulders. "Everything, _everything_ returns to the same place, after all... Given enough time."

Vanille moved to cover her mouth with her hands, before she shivered, watching as Hecate began to fade, scattering out over the darkened realm, until her form had completely disappeared.

"She rests." Yeul turned to face the horizon, slowly bowing her head. "And now, one more may return... As is the way of the seer."

Serah almost let out a gasp as an identical figure stepped forth, blue hair wisping at her sides.

The first Yeul silently walked off into the shadows, while the second merely stared at them, before she nodded with the tiniest hint of a smile, speaking in a more youthful voice then her peer. "Hello."

Lightning slowly reached out to hold Vanille's trembling shoulders. "You'll be coming back with us, then?"

Yeul nodded. "Noel has played his part, as I will now play mine." She walked up to stand beside them. "I must ask, though... What do _you_ hope to accomplish with your current course of action?"

Lightning tensed slightly, before she turned to look at Yeul. "How would you-?"

Yeul smiled. "I'm a seer... We see the important things before they even _happen_." She nodded up at Lightning. "And you... You're on a _very_ unusual path."

Serah spoke up. "Hey, what sort of important things?" She took a step forward. "I can't even remember-"

Yeul's smile fell. "As Hecate said, we don't have much time before this hour ends... We should get back to Earth before we talk."

Lightning squeezed at Vanille's shoulders. "Hey... Are you going to be okay?"

With a quiet sniffle, Vanille reached up to wipe at her eyes with a nod. "I will." She spoke softly, yet somewhat strained. "It was good to meet someone... Someone like me."

Lightning nodded as well. "Let's get back, then." She released Vanille's shoulders. "I'd bet that Fang would like to know about this, wouldn't you?"

Vanille slowly smiled, before she took hold of Lightning's hand. "Thank you." She walked forward as Yeul led the way, glancing down at her own fingers. "You're a lot like her, you know."

Lightning glanced back as the shadows began to curl, unraveling around them. "Well..."

Vanille giggled. "If I hadn't already met _Serah_, I would've said that you must be a big sister, too!"

Serah giggled back. "They've got a type, don't they?"

Vanille nodded as her shoes touched down on the sidewalk, before a bright, fluttering creature crossed into her line of vision. "Definitely." She squeezed at Lightning's hand. "We can be sisters, right? It doesn't have to be a blood connection."

Lightning looked back at her with a tiny smile. "Looks like Fang might have some competition..."

Vanille scoffed. "I can _have_ more than one big sister!" She giggled again. "If anything, it'll just give her someone to relate with."

As the gray, motionless world appeared once more before them, Yeul paused upon the sidewalk, staring up at the sky. "It's been... Such a long time." She exhaled as her aura shivered, spreading out, which cast a dark, almost blue wingspan to her sides. "In Etro's realm, time doesn't really seem to move, but..."

"Etro?" Serah walked up to stand beside Yeul's wings. "That was..?"

Yeul nodded. "Etro herself, _she_ created the potential for seers to exist with the last of her remaining power... Before Bhunivelze locked her away."

Vanille looked down at the staff in her hand, before she raised it up, staring along the white, polished surface. "So, um..."

Yeul turned to face Vanille, tucking away her wings. "Draw upon your aura."

Vanille frowned a bit. "I'm not really sure, how to..." She blinked once, gazing along each curve of the crowning antlers. "But I can try." Vanille let her eyes fall shut, and as she focused within, she felt the same words echo throughout her mind once more, until they became almost a mantra, repeating as if she had always carried them within her.

"Vanille?"

She kept silent, concentrating, until a weight seemed to lift from her hand, before she opened her eyes, slowly, carefully taking sight of the towering beast before her.

The russet stag stood tall upon the winding sidewalk, yet it kept completely still as it stared down at the women before it, save for its slim, swiveling ears.

Vanille looked with a small, breathy laugh. "Hecatoncheir... How is it that I know him so well?" She slowly reached up to touch along the creature's muzzle, petting at its snout. "It feels like we've _always_-"

"A familiar." Yeul looked at the stag from the corner of her eye. "Auras are passed down through generations, and certain familiars can do the same."

Hecatoncheir lifted his head, staring out at the frozen city streets. "Awake, again? It's been _long_." He blinked after a moment, before a puff of breath left his mouth. "Very long."

Vanille stared up at the tall, yet curling antlers atop Hecatoncheir's head. "Hey, are you like Serah and Lightning's familiars?"

Hecatoncheir took a slow step forward, and his hooves clicked down against the pavement, echoing out in the dead silence of the street. "How so?"

Vanille let go of Lightning's hand to follow him. "Well, I don't know..." She giggled when the stag nuzzled at her shoulder. "I'm really new to all this stuff, you know."

Hecatoncheir stopped within the middle of the road for a moment, before he looked up at the sky. "I... I have watched from afar, for many, _many_ years as this bloodline remained inert..." He looked back at Vanille. "The day you were born, my heart sang again for the first time in _centuries_."

Vanille's eyes widened as Hecatoncheir gazed into them. "But, wait... I thought you were Hecate's familiar?"

Hecatoncheir began to lower his head, and his antlers followed, casting a shadow on his neck. "In death, a familiar is at rest... Immobile, like this very hour." He turned to face Vanille again, staring into her eyes. "We have been waiting for you to find us."

Vanille's heartbeat quickened, and she took a sharp breath of air. "So... What happens now?"

Hecatoncheir lifted his head. "Now, it begins."

While Lightning looked on from afar, she was drawn back to attention when the watch in her hand began to shimmer, and as she took a closer look at the device, her eyes went wide with a shout. "Vanille, out of the _street!_"

Hecatoncheir immediately burst into action, sweeping Vanille up to his back with a grunt, before he lowered his head to charge, leaping away mere moments before an eruption of both sound and movement flared out over the street, shattering the utter silence that had filled the world before.

As soon as her ears had stopped ringing, Vanille looked down at herself; the staff rested over her lap, while a torment of rushing, rumbling traffic plowed on before her very eyes.

Lightning dropped to the sidewalk, kneeling beside her. "Are you alright?" After a moment, she narrowed her eyes at the watch in her hand. "I should've been _looking_-"

Vanille shook her head, before she reached over to clutch at the staff. "I'm okay, it's okay..." She took a moment to breathe as her body quietly wracked with shivers. "That was close, huh..?"

Serah let out a breath from behind her. "You nearly scared _me_ to death..!"

Vanille slowly looked down at the weapon in her hands, before she reached out to fold it up, hooking the wooden clasp at the end to the belt of her skirt. "I'm okay, really..." She began to rise up to her feet, before she nodded, turning to face her friends. "All good, see?"

Lightning glanced down at the watch, and then back to Vanille. "If you say so." She watched as the device slowly began to lose its shimmer, while the floating particles around it started to fade, until they had completely disappeared. "Serah... How's Mog?"

Serah lifted up the tiny moogle. "Well..." She began to smile when the watch at his collar ticked steadily in place, counting just a moment past noon. "It looks fine again."

The silver watch ticked on as well, and Lightning looked down at it for a moment, before she set it back within her pocket. "Well, the others are probably wondering where we went..." She nodded at Yeul. "And _you_ have a friend to meet up with."

Yeul smiled, nodding back. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>A lovely medley of scent carried itself around the tavern tables, and while the various regular patrons kept to themselves at the bar, a small, motley crowd all sat together in the corner by the windows, chatting quietly beneath the evening sun.<p>

"So what's this called, again?" Serah looked down at the colorful dish between them. "They look pretty interesting..."

"Never heard of sliders?" Noel soon chuckled to himself. "Ah, your first time down here, right..."

Fang chuckled as well. "They're little cheeseburgers." She spoke again after she had taken a bite. "Hell, am I gonna need to explain cows again..?"

Lightning nearly flushed. "Just _try_ one, Serah." She leaned back in the booth as Fang winked at her, but she soon found that she couldn't take her eyes away from the assembled group, nearly all of which were packed into a corner bench together. "Well, maybe we'll take you out sometime for steak."

Vanille began to giggle. "You should have seen your _face_, Light!" She leaned forward with a grin. "It almost looked like you were about to storm the kitchen for _more_ once you'd finished..."

Lightning merely cleared her throat, glancing away as the table shared a collective laugh.

Fang rolled her eyes. "Well, _now_ I know what to cook when you guys come to visit..." She reached out for another slider. "You guys _will_ come visit, right? I'll get Vanille to clean up all her junk before you get there..."

"_My_ junk?" With a scoff, Vanille swatted at Fang's arm. "And _who_ exactly bought a lifetime supply of beef jerky just because, 'it looked like a bargain'?"

Fang only smiled.

Serah chuckled to break the silence. "Well, we do have some plans to set up a school at home, so it might be a while before we come back." She carefully took a bite of one of the tiny cheeseburgers. "Oh, this is pretty good..."

Hope spoke up. "It was only about an hour of flying, though; it shouldn't be too hard to make the trip back and forth in the future."

"As long as _you_ don't make friends with any more trees..." Lightning bit back a smile. "I think we might just go back to ground-level sparring at this rate."

Hope tried his best to frown at her, but the amusement in Lightning's voice made him smile as well. "You just wait 'til I start getting good at magic..."

Vanille held up her own hands. "Hey, me too! I'm going to keep practicing, and-"

The front door suddenly swung open with a creak, and Vanille fell quiet, before she leaned forward, gazing at the two individuals that walked out into the tavern.

"Oi!" Fang sat up from her space in the booth, but she couldn't quite maneuver herself out with people at both of her sides. "You've got some _explaining_ to do, missy!"

Chocolina stuck out her tongue, before she sauntered over, tugging up a chair. "I suppose I _do_, don't I?" She winked at both Fang and Vanille. "Quite an exciting turn of events..."

Sazh sat down as well, chuckling under his breath. "Leave it to you kids, digging up all this stuff before we can explain it..."

Fang looked between them both. "So, spill!" She focused on Chocolina herself. "I want to know _everything_."

Chocolina slowly began to nod. "Well then... I have a confession to make."

Vanille frowned a bit.

With a quiet giggle, Chocolina spoke again. "I'm _not_ your aunt... On your _mother's_ side." She leaned back in her chair with a mirthful sigh. "Oh, where to start? Your mother was a lovely woman, but she didn't quite know what she was getting into with your father..."

Fang narrowed her eyes. "He walked _out_ on us."

The table grew steadily quieter, even as the rest of the group continued to keep silent.

After a moment, Chocolina met Fang's gaze with a twinkle in her gaze. "Not _willingly_."

Fang's breath almost caught.

"Oh, he was a _lot_ of things, my brother..." Chocolina shook her head. "But he wouldn't have abandoned his family, not if he could help it." She closed her eyes, thinking deep. "We learned later on that your mother came from a long lineage of humans... One of which was actually a Nephilim, like yourselves."

Vanille leaned forward slightly. "What?! So we have it on-"

"Both sides." Sazh glanced over Vanille's aura, noting the added swirl of color within the energy itself. "But you've got quite a bit of human in there, too."

Fang sat in silence for a moment, before she let her hands tighten upon her lap. "Where _is_ our father, then?" She stared at Chocolina, who in turn looked down at her feet.

"He's..." Chocolina cleared her throat, speaking quietly. "He's gone, Fang." She slowly shook her head. "I would have... I'd have been swept up as well if he hadn't hidden us."

Fang nearly frowned. "'Hidden us'?"

Chocolina nodded. "You were only nine, if I remember right..." She let out a soft sigh. "Your mother knew too, of course, but they both felt that the two of you should be raised as humans, first... So that you would learn to appreciate that part of yourselves."

"What... What happened?" Vanille spoke in a near whisper. "If it's okay to-"

Serah spoke up after a moment, quietly as well. "If you'd rather we leave..."

Fang grit her teeth. "Doesn't matter, let's just get it out." She looked down at herself, fighting back a sigh. "I don't need secrets... Doesn't matter at all if they hear it."

Chocolina tapped her fingers together, before she glanced down at the wooden floor, somewhat lost in thought. "Vanille was just an infant... I remember the way she had such _bright_ orange curls, even the moment she was born."

Vanille traced her fingers over the folded staff at her side.

Chocolina continued with a nod. "Well, the Sanctum doesn't take well to 'deserters'... Your father and I had fled together, and for a while, we were living without any trouble at all, so when he met your mother..." She paused to take a long breath. "When you were born, Fang... I knew you'd be such a _strong_ young lady." Chocolina gazed into her niece's eyes, staring at the deep green within. "Just like your father was."

"Was he..?" Fang blinked, allowing her jaw to relax. "I don't really remember much about him."

"When Vanille was born, your mother had a dream the night before." Chocolina slowly shook her head. "She told me, then... She _knew_ exactly what would happen over the next few weeks; it was the first time she'd ever shown a _hint_ of magical ability." With a nod, Chocolina looked over at Vanille. "And when it was all said and done, I knew that Vanille would someday be the same."

"My dreams..." Vanille smiled a little, before she tapped along the antlers of her staff. "You knew, didn't you?"

Chocolina smiled as well. "Before seeing that, I was planning to tell the both of you once you had hit somewhere in your fifties... Once you had started to wonder why you hadn't aged a _day_ past your early-thirties."

Fang looked up with a slight tilt of her head. "Wait, _we're_-?"

Sazh chuckled. "Welcome to the millennium club, kiddos..." He leaned back in his chair. "It's a _long_ haul, but I can't say it hasn't been fun."

* * *

><p>Traffic rumbled back and forth, while flickering shadows danced out in a rhythm against the city streets, cast off by the various shops and storefronts that came alive only within the restless night, illuminating the very atmosphere itself.<p>

Several sets of footfalls touched down after each other, walking in unison upon the bustling, concrete sidewalk.

"Does it really look okay?" Serah ran her fingertips over the ruffled hem of her shirt, before she grimaced slightly at the way her legs were restricted by the jeans that they had purchased. "I've always worn shorts or skirts... This is a little weird."

Noel spoke up from beside her. "No winters on Cocoon, I remember, now... You'll have to get used to the cold if you come visit in the winter."

Lightning spoke up from beside her. "It looks fine, Serah."

"Yeah!" Vanille let out a giggle, skipping along behind them. "You look great!"

Serah smiled a bit. "Thank you..." She smoothed out the wrinkles in her shirt. "I'll have to put an enchantment on these, too..."

Lightning glanced down at her own jacket. "I'll lend a hand if you need it."

Fang suddenly spoke, pointing off at a patch of green on the horizon. "There's our stop..."

Serah and Hope began to frown, while Lightning simply looked over at the park, before a soft, nearby voice caught her attention. "Lightning."

As she looked over at the diminutive figure, Lightning began to nod. "Yes?"

Yeul glanced over at the rest of their group, before she paused, almost motionless upon the sidewalk. "May I have a word?"

Lightning turned, waving at the rest of their group. "Keep going. We'll catch up." She soon moved back to step beside Yeul, who had slowed her pace to a steady walk. "Yeah?"

Yeul closed her eyes for a moment, merely listening to the sounds of the crowd around her. "Well, I'll keep this simple... I can see every possible outcome of what you plan to accomplish."

Lightning moved to bite at her bottom lip, but it did nothing to stop the growing sensation that something was crawling beneath her spine. "Look, just because you're a _seer_..."

Yeul continued to speak. "I am a seer, yes, but first and foremost, I am a Seraph." She looked over at Lightning, narrowing her eyes. "I know more about you, than you do _yourself_... And I hope that you might grow to trust me enough to guide you on this path."

After a moment of thought, Lightning quirked an eyebrow in Yeul's direction. "You really aren't going to try and talk me out of it?"

Yeul merely smiled.

Lightning paused, standing still. "You _want_ this."

"I want what is best for our people." Yeul narrowed her eyes at the sidewalk, before she turned in place. "Despite your... Past decisions, you are an admirable example of the Seraphic race, and from what I've seen of the future..." She lowered her voice, leaning in for a moment to whisper beside Lightning's ear. "The end is drawing nearer than you _think_... Unless we stop it in time."

Lightning's blood went cold, but she kept herself completely still, even as the crowd around her seemed to grow silent, despite the gathering, unyielding rumble.

Yeul reached up, brushing away a strand of blue hair from her face. "We've known since the very beginning, but our efforts to reveal it have fallen only on deaf ears, or..." She frowned. "Silenced."

Lightning turned to look back at Yeul, staring deep into her unwavering gaze.

A glimmer soon filled Yeul's eyes. "Let me guide you... We _can_ turn the tides, but only with absolute cooperation!" After a moment, she glanced off into the distance, before she inhaled, breathing deep of the crisp, night air. "But there _are_ many variables... I've seen you die a thousand times, and Serah even more."

Lightning's voice nearly caught. "She _won't_-"

"Hey... I know that you'll protect her as best you can." Yeul slowly shook her head. "Watch your borders, Lightning... And keep your eyes open."

Lightning watched as Yeul began to walk forward, before she turned, gazing off into the sky.

"My eyes are always open." Lightning grit her teeth. "And we're hidden... Very hidden."

"I suppose so." Yeul blinked at the buildings above. "But will it be enough?"

* * *

><p>AN: The pun train rolls on... An alternate chapter name that I considered was 'deer in the headlights'.

I took a break from writing yesterday to catch up with the PC release of 13, and damn, _damn!_ These silly, wacky characters... I just want to tell them the _frigging_ ending so that they'll stop bitching at each other for more than a sweet, flipping minute.

_This_ is why I write conflict that doesn't result in constant, incessant bickering, because otherwise, I'd have probably sent all of these nerds off the edge of a cliff before we even got past the first chapter... Such wonderful, yet thick-headed nerds.


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